Chronicles of The Chosen One: Ash Ketchum - The Pokemon Master
by amithefiretornado1
Summary: Continuation of the story by Nateman364. Ash is going on his Johto journey to finally battle at the Silver Conference.
1. Chapter 1: Ep: 27 - Voice of Illex

**A/N:** This is a continuation of the story "Chronicles of the chosen one: Pokemon Master" by Nateman364 . I loved the story so much that after it was put on Permanent Hiatus I decided the story deserves at least a finish of the Johto Journeys. So, I tried to contact the Author but could not get a reply. So I continued the Johto journeys. I want to complete at least the Johto journeys. So, before reading the story read the story by Nateman364. The link to the story is s/8033836/1/COTCHO-PM-Permanent-Hiatus. Then I want to declare that I DO NOT OWN POKEMON BUT THE IDEA FROM HERE ON IS MINE, SOME OF WHICH ARE INFLUENCED BY SOME OF THE STORIES I HAVE READ. So, let's continue with the story.

 **Ch 27** **:** **The voice of Illex**

Ash was in the Illex forest. He had been there for a week and his training along with his pokemons' was going pretty well. Cyndaquil was able to hold onto his flames for a longer time and he learnt a new move named flame charge. Meanwhile Bayleef was having her wish fulfilled that is one on one training with Ash. Pikachu was trying to learn _Electro ball_ as well was training to learn magnet rise and increase his physical strength using weights five times of his body. But mainly he was trying to learn Magnet rise to become immune to ground type moves.

During the training to increase his electric storage Pikachu got hit by a natural Lightning. It was the second time a lightning had done something good for Pikachu (First time was in viridian forest, a lightning helped Pikachu to defend Ash from Spearows.). Nonetheless Pikachu was happy because it awakened his second ability ' _Lightning Rod'_ as well was his electricity pool was multiplied by approximately Five times which means he could now fire back to back high power Electric attacks without getting fatigued. Plus his electricity became denser than before and had an orange tint to his attacks. So he now tried to make his body immune to the only type which can damage him. His physical training was coming very good. His Iron tail which previously could crack a skull sized boulder now could decimate a human sized boulder to pieces.

It was a typical day. Ash was strolling through the forest in search of berries when he heard sobbing. Instantly he was on guard.

"What is going on Mewtwo?"

" _I am feeling a desperate tone ahead of us. Some human and pokemon are together and feeling terrified. I can feeling their mental state. It must be a strong psychic type to give off such strong Psychic waves."_ Mewtwo replied.

"Show me the way."

" _We are very close. They are just behind the tree."_

"ok. Thanks. Hide yourself."

With the command Mewtwo shrouded himself from view in a psychic field.

Soon Ash came to the tree Mewtwo had pointed and saw a small boy about eight to nine years crying alongside a small green pokemon with big blue eyes who seemed to be unconscious. Ash approached the boy.

"Who are you? What are you doing so deep inside of Illex forest?" Ash asked.

The boy instantly perked up hearing another human voice.

"My name is Sam. I was playing in the forest nearby Pallet town when I saw this pokemon came rushing. So I tried to help it. But when I went near it then suddenly a big bad man with mask came and attacked us with some kind of weapon and some black ball. So this pokemon shrieked and after that we found ourselves inside this creepy forest area and now it is unconscious. Am I still in pallet?"Sam asked. Then he fell unconscious.

Ash was worried. He instantly knew there was something fishy here.

" _Sounds like some kind of poacher. Don't you think? But how is it possible to travel so long within a blink of an eye. Unless you have a very very powerful Psychic pokemon using Teleport it is almost impossible to travel that far so shortly. This kid doesn't seem like a trainer though. So what pokemon is that strong to Teleport that much distance? It has to be something which has to have power equal to you and Mew when I first met you both."_ Ash thought.

" _Very nice deductions Ash. While you were evaluating the situation I went through both their memories. It seems this green pokemon is a indeed a Grass/Psychic type legendary pokemon named Celebi. It is a child but a Legendary nonetheless. What I gathered from their thoughts is that...(Mewtwo was angry from whatever data he collected.")...This pokemon along with its group was travelling through Pallet when the poacher attacked them. He caught its mother using some kind of pokeball after which thae celebi listened to every order the poacher gave and attacked them all. Everyone from the group teleported instantly. But this child doesn't have control of its powers. So when it tried to teleport it came in contact with the human child. But when its own mother attacked it on the command of the poacher, it was terrified and conjured every ounce of power it had and opened some kind of portal. But being untrained in its power it could not control the suction of portal and overpowered it with more psychic energy than necessary and both of them got sucked in it. And Ash I think it was a time travel portal. So you need to ask the child about the time frame he belongs after he wakes up. It will help us know whether they are from Future or Past. "_ Mewtwo suggested.

"Very well. Then let's take them to our camp. Meanwhile you try to wake up the pokemon using your psychic powers. We have to watch out for any other attackers though. So be on guard. Let's go." With that Ash and Mewtwo along with Sam and Celebi were teleported to the camp where Ash was training.

 _-Scene Break-_

It has been two days since Sam and Celebi were back to consciousness. Sam got along well with Ash. He was very much inspired by Ash and his pokemon. He was drawing on his book the pictures of Ash and his pokemon while training. He told Ash he was going to train his own pokemon someday and will be as strong as Ash.

Meanwhile Celebi was playing with Mew and Mewtwo. They were helping the little Celebi control its psychic abilities. Overall Celebi was very happy. It also saw Ash's pokemon training. It attempted to power up _Razor leaf_ but failed miserably and pouted cutely.

Overall the day was going good. But suddenly they were attacked by solar beam. Ash recalled Mew. Mewtwo defended the pokemons while Pikachu erected a _Reflect_ to defend against the Attack. Meanwhile Ash was on guard. After a while they saw what was attacking them.

In front of them was a larger pokemon which looked like Celebi although larger but the key difference was it was Black in colour instead of Green. Behind it was a person clad in steel plated Armour and he had his face covered by a Mask. He was over six feet tall with broad shoulders with a deep black complexion.

"Who are you? Why are you attacking us?"Ash asked.

Meanwhile Mewtwo who was invisible again reported to Ash about them.

" _Ash! This is the same poacher who attacked the Baby came via the same portal through which little Celebi came. As you know Celebi was unconscious after travelling so it could not close theportal and it didn't have the control to do it either. This scum of a human took benefit of that. From his memories I came to know that he wants to control the Time warp aspect of Celebi's power to control Team rocket of his timeline. And the black Celebi is captured by some kind of pokeball called DARKBALL. This pokeball catches pokemons and increases their abilities and powers twofold. But the pokemon captured loses every moral it had and becomes a mindless drone of super powers. Essentially and crudely speaking. This pokeball enslaves pokemons."_ Mewtwo telepathically bellowed in anger.

Ash was enraged hearing such Cruelty to pokemons. Then the man laughed loudly and maniacally.

"Nice one kid. But hand over the Celebi or you will never see the light again. I am the _**'IRON MASKED MARAUDER'.**_ You will do what I said. Now hand over the Celebi." The poacher barked.

"Never. I will do no such thing you pokemon enslaver. Besides what is there to guarantee that you will leave us alive even after we hand over this Celebi to you."Ash retorted.

"Very perspective kid. I give you that. But you don't stand a chance against my Celebi nor your pokemons. NOW...

Celebi. Hyperbeam."

Ash immediately called out Pidgeot and charizard. Meanwhile Mewtwo deflected the Hyperbeam using Psychic towards the poacher. Ash and Sam rode on Charizard and Pidgeot respectively and flew high into sky.

But Luck was not in their favour. Ash knew he could not fight the man up close. He will overpower Ash. So he took flight. But the marauder was riding on a Dodrio which was black as well. He then fired beams from his weapon. One beam nicked Ash's left shoulder. Seeing this Mewtwo lifted the poacher and threw him ahead. The man skidded to a halt after a good 50 feet. But he called out a Tyranitar which was black again and ordered to fire a Hyper Beam. Unfortunately the beam connected to Pidgeot and he fell from sky unbalanced. Ash didn't have any other choice. So he resolved his will and lowered Charizard to fight against the poacher to save Little Celebi and Sam.

"You want a battle kid. Let's battle kid." The marauder angrily roared.

He threw another pokeball from which a Beedrill materialised.

"Celebi _Solar Beam_.

Beedrill _poison sting_.

Tyranitar _Dark pulse_.

Dodrio _Hyper beam_. Blast those kids."

Ash was bleeding. He caught celebi midair. Sam was safe on Pidgeot as well. Seeing the attacks coming he had no time to take other pokeball. Charizard was guarding Pidgeot and the children. He had to reveal Mewtwo to fight against such powerful attacks which were twice the size of normal attacks of the same type. So he decided to take a step which will name him a Hero and earn him the respect of a group of legendary pokemons.

"Mew two fire psychically charged _Hyper beam_ and _Focus blast_ against them all. FULL POWER. Remove all restraints I have put during the training."Ash ordered.

Mewtwo materialised in a bright light. He charged two Boulder sized yellow and Orange balls. Then he threw the twin orbs with such force and speed that the opposing pokemons were blasted off their feet and fell unconscious. The poacher was even angrier and snarled. He wanted to catch the pokemon that was able to destroy a supercharged Mature Celebi. So he threw a Darkball at Mewtwo It connected. But He was shocked to see what happened next.

Because suddenly the ball fell down unable to capture Mewtwo. Mewtwo who had his eyes closed felt that he was not captured. Then he realised _"Had I not been captured by Ash already I surely would have enslaved by this scumbag of a human."_ Suddenly his respect for Ash went up a notch.

"Ahhhhh!"Ash cried out in pain.

Mewtwo heard this. He saw Ash jumping in front of him to take the Gunshot that the marauder had fired to kill him. Ash was bleeding from his left shoulder. Something in him snapped then and there.

"You worthless lifeform of a human. You dare to enslave us legendaries and then attack us using our own kind. I can ignore that. But YOU DARED to attack my Trainer. Its unforgivable.

You will suffer.

 _ **PSYSTRIKE**_."

A huge ball of Bluish Silver energy of diameter of at leat fifty feet materialised in front of him and he flung it towards the Marauder. The so called _**IRON MASKED MARAUDER**_ was utterly terrified. In his whole life he had never seen a pokemon attack him instead the other way around. This attack was leagues ahead of whatever he had seen ever. The attack touched him and he saw his life flash away instantly. There was a huge mushroom cloud where the rest of the attack hit. The attack did not damage him externally. But if a thorough check is performed then it will show the true fearsomeness of the _Psystrike._ The nervous system of the man was overcharged to the point that his spinal cord and brain could not handle the pressure and had melted immediately.

THUD

The body of the marauder fell lifelessly to the ground. Ash had seen all of this and he closed the eyes of little Sam. Mewtwo never realised what he did until everything was over. He saw Ash with a guilty look "I am sorry Ash. But I had to do it else he would have enslaved more pokemon. I could have ignored everything but when he fired the weapon against you something in my head snapped. If you think me as a monster and won't want to associate anymore I will understand."He turned around hoping for the worst. Instead Ash hugged him which he had not done before.

"Thank you Mewtwo for saving my pokemon and me. And . DON'T. EVER. THINK. YOU. ARE . A. MONSTER again. You are pokemon and pokemon are not monsters."He smiled. Seeing it Mewtwo smiled.

"Besides you are a feline type. Not monster type."Ash joked. His blood flow was somewhat halted. Then mewtwo charged some healing aura into Ash which stopped any more blood loss immediately.

Soon he saw what that attack did. Every DARKBALL that the _**IRON MASKED MARAUDER**_ had were destroyed. The pokemon were free from the servitude of the marauder and free to go again.

Soon the larger Celebi came to Ash and hugged Ash for what he did to save it and its child. Soon Ash saw 6 more celebis.

"Am I hallucinating or something? Mewtwo. Are there really 8 Celebis here?"Ash asked.

" _No, Ash you are seeing truth. They are the group that was attacked by the_ _ **IRON MASKED MARAUDER**_ _. The Celebi that attacked us was their leader. But apparently due to her capture they were all terrified and fled. But when they saw the portal Little celebi had opened and followed it here to see you fighting the_ _ **IRON MASKED MARAUDER.**_ _They want to repay you. So they will take the dead body of the_ _ **IRON MASKED MARAUDER**_ _to his timeline and throw him there."_ Mewtwo informed Ash.

Meanwhile Sam was absolutely star strucked by the brave deeds of Ash. So he hugged him and promised him that he will go far in the area of pokemon training and research.

After that he handed Ash a good luck card and asked him to open after he departs to his timeline. Soon all the Celebis and Sam alongwith the body of the _**IRON MASKED MARAUDER**_ left the area through the same portal through which they had come. The little Celebi was Teary eyed. Then they left.

"What a day? Well teleport to Azalea town again Mewtwo. I need to treat this wound along with you all. Pidgeot needs treatment. Pikachu fell head first and is still unconscious. Let's go."Ash ordered before losing Consciousness.

Soon the Nurse joy of Azalea town was very busy and the officer Jenny was informed.

 _-Scene Break-_

Ash woke up after two days and was informed that all his pokemon along with his legendaries were doing fine. It will take at least five more days for him to become travel ready again though. Till then he was stuck in Azalea. Officer jenny was informed that the indigo and orange conference champion was injured in Illex forest. So she came as soon as Ash was awake. Ash informed her that it was team rocket who were trying to enslave a group of pokemon. So he intervened. In the crossfire he was injured.

Meanwhile outside the hospital a big green pokemon was waiting for Ash to wake up. It was the same Tyranitor the _**IRON MASKED MARAUDER**_ had. After release every pokemon the poacher had left except the Tyranitor. But it was not the only one who was waiting for Ash. There were eight small green pokemons outside Ash's room. As soon as Officer Jenny left, the group of Celebi and mewtwo entered into Ash's room.

Ash was surprised to see them again.

"Hey Celebis. What are you all doing here? I thought you all left with Sam."Ash asked.

The lead Celebi, the mother of little Celebi came forward and replied to Ash "Bi Bii Cele cel celebi bi celle cele bibibibi."

Ash sweatdropped. He turned to Mewtwo. "I see they are in some kind of need. But what are they saying."

" _Actually they had left Ash. But when they were leaving the body of the_ _ **IRON MASKED MARAUDER**_ _some people saw them and are after them since then. Within two days there have been at least a fifty attempt to catch them. It seems the criminal organisations are after them. So they left the timeline and came to the only timeline they are somewhat familiar with. Now they don't know anyone here except you. So they want you to catch them and help them settle here in this timeline."_ Mewtwo explained.

Ash was gobsmacked. It was one thing to catch one legendary pokemon but to catch a whole group of legendary was something different. So he simply nodded without uttering any word.

Then he came to senses and told the Celebis "Look. You eight are all special. Anyone would be honoured to catch you. But you have to understand I am a pokemon trainer. That means if you come with me you all will have to train to become stronger. If you don't want to fight it's fight but all my pokemon at least have to train to achieve better prowess in life whether they want to fight or not. But if you want to fight then your training will be much harder. In time you may be as strong as Mew two here."

All the Celebis were ok with that. They had no problem in training. They wanted to get stronger. Especially after they saw what mewtwo's supreme battle prowess was and how easily he defeated their leader without breaking a sweat. But the most enthusiastic was the little celebi who wanted to become as strong as Mewtwo. So he leaped towards Ash and hugged him.

Ash replied "You want to become stronger. Right? But you have to wait to become a bit bigger. Oh don't make faces. You are small now. Okay you are not small? Ok. Mewtwo here personally will train you in controlling your powers for now. Ok?"The small celebi squealed happily.

Then without any further ado Ash offered Eight Ultra balls to the Celebis after explaining them about Oak's Corral and New Island. After Ash caught them they were all transferred to Prof. Oak's ranch. Ash groaned again thinking about Prof. Oak calling him and asking him to explain everything. Well then he saw the Good luck card Sam had given him. He opened it and saw a picture of him and mewtwo inside hand drawn by Sam along with some message.

True to his word Prof. Oak called him on his Gear. So ash sighed and replied.

"Hey there Prof. Oak. Did you get them?"Ash asked

"Ah. Ash. My boy. Yeah I saw them. ONLY you can take catching a group of LEGENDARY pokemons so casually."Then he shook uncontrollably like a child when he gets a cookie jar."ÄHHH. I CAN'T TAKE THE CASUAL BEHAVIOUR ANYMORE. ASH. YOU CAUGHT CELEBI. YOU KNOW HO RARE SEEING EVEN ONE CELEBI. HERE YOU CAUGHT A WHOLE BUNCH. YOU HAVE TO TELL ME EVERYTHING ABOUT IT."

Ash sighed again due to being bedridden and explained everything to the Professor. He asked him to keep it with himself though. Not to reveal the to anyone. Then he showed the card to Prof. Oak and asked "Prof. Oak. Do you recognise this handwriting? I think they somewhat match yours."On the otherside Prof. Oak. Was surprised to see his childhood drawing card which he had given to his idol at the time he was mere eight years old. Then he shook his head realising Ash was the same hero who inspired him to become a pokemon trainer and later a researcher. Then he told Ash about his own adventures and Ash was also surprised that the little Sam he met a couple of days ago was the Renowned Prof. Oak. Then he smiled and became a lot familiar with Prof. Oak.

Then a thought came to his mind. So he asked "Hey Prof. Oak. If there are poachers near the pallet forests, then I have to do something to guard mom. Could you please call all the Houndours?"

Prof. and ordered "Tracey. Get all the Houndours here. Tell them Ash is calling them."

"There is another thing I want to ask. Seeing that I am only eleven and half years old now I want to learn a lot more about pokemon battling. So can you tell me should I challenge the Elite four as I can challenge them as many times as I can to gain experience. Also I want my older pokemon to gain more and more power. Simply training can't provide it. They will need experience."

Prof. Oak. Smiled. "I am happy that you thought so ahead. But I think I have a better suggestion. Seeing that you are a conference champion now with two conference win under your belt I can reveal it to you. So listen carefully.

Travelling to Kanto from Johto and Vice versa will be very tiring and there is no guarantee if the elite four are at the indigo plateau or not. So, don't come to Kanto. Instead fight the Gym leaders in johto. I know you are doing that. But I am asking you to fight them with their personal team of six pokemons. Not the league sanctioned pokemons. Mark my words. It will be helpful; because the future Elite fours are selected from the current Gym leaders. Ask them about the special privilege you will get after you defeat them at full power though. They are only allowed to fight at full power against a conference champion and when(Only when) asked by the conference winner from the front. Most trainers don't know about it and are not allowed to battle either at full power. So if you battle them you will get a distinct advantage in the Johto League for sure. You are in Johto now. So, start with the second gym; because you can fight either against the first/second gym leader. According to general perception the first two are the easiest to earn badges. As you have left Violet city, hence fight in the Azalea gym instead. It will give you a reason to stay a bit longer in Azalea and it will also give your body ample time to recover too."

Ash replied "Thank you! Thank you very much Prof. Oak. You just saved me a lot of time. I am definitely going to do just that. I am going to challenge every gym leader now on for a regular gym battle to help my new pokemon get experience. Then I will ask them to fight me at full power to help my older pokemons gain experience and power. This will be awesome."

Soon the Houndours arrives and came in front of the screen. They all greeted in unison "Houn Dour"

"Hey. How are you doing there? Looking good? Getting sufficient food? Right?"

They barked cheerily again. So Ash was happy. Then he became somewhat serious. He described them about the situation he was in. Then he asked "You know there are a lot of pokemon and babies in the Ranch. So I want you to look after them all the time. I called you all for that matter only. Listen Mom lives there along with Mimey, Wigglytuff, Mareeps. So, I want at least two of you to guard the Ketchum Residence especially mom all the time. Wherever she goes, don't leave her alone. Rest of you train at Ranch and look after rest of the family. Ok? After all we are family. It is our duty to look after each other. Think you can do that?" They all barked in unison. "Okay. I will see you after I gather all the badges. Then I will come and we will train at new island. Okay? Till then keep training there and keep everyone safe. Now you can go."

Then Ash returned to his talk with Prof. Oak. and thanked him again and dropped the call. After that he fell asleep as the medicines started taking effect.

Ash woke up to get out, but was suddenly he heard some commotion outside. When he got out he saw a Tyranitar being restrained by Bugsy and his pokemons. When the Green behemoth saw Ash she bellowed happily and calmed down. So Bugsy turned around and saw Ash standing there. He wished him, but before he could go Ash asked him to fight him the next day against his personal team.

Bugsy smiled. He answered "Of course we'll battle. So Prof. Oak told you. Come in the evening at six. You will get the details of special privilege if and only if you can defeat me. You can challenge me as many times as you want. That's because it's been more than a decade since someone has challenged us Gym leaders for a full battle."

After Bugsy left Ash turned to the Tyranitar and came to know from Mewtwo that she wanted to become more powerful. So Ash told her same thing he said to Celebis and then he threw a Heavy ball to catch the Tyranitar which was transferred to Prof. Oak. Then he went to a secluded place near the Illex forest and released the pokemon he had along with the ones he wanted to use in the battle against Bugsy. So he threw the pokeballs and all the pokemons came out.

Ash asked them to go on with their routine. Then he took Mewtwo and Mew to one side. "Mewtwo. The attack you used was dangerous. So in league battles it is a big NO. You can use it at a maximum of twenty percent of the power you used today in any official battle unless it is a life and death situation or I say so. Now please perform it again."

Mewtwo formed a small basketball sized _Psystrike_ and fired at some trees. Instantly the trees were uprooted causing a small explosion and debris to fly around. Ash reacted "Whoa. We need to work on that. You must have better control over it. Well, Mew could you please copy it. What is the name again?...mmmm... Yeah _Psystrike_." Mew tried again and again but was unsuccessful. Ash then asked "What happened mew? Can't you copy the move?"Mew shook her head in negative. Then Ash realised something. He turned towards Mewtwo who had a gobsmacked look on his face and said very happily "Congratulations. Mewtwo. You have unlocked your Signature move. Woo Hoo. Yeahhhhhh. Now you are a true Legendary in every sense. For this I am giving you a nickname. Hmmm...Do you think STRIKER is a good name? Is it okay with you?" Mewtwo uttered the name several times and nodded. He loved it. Then Mew asked eagerly "Ew? Ew? Ew? Mew?" Ash understood that she wanted a name too. Ash suddenly grabbed mew and twirled her and answered happily "You are truly a kid in every aspect who I would love to spoil. There is only one name that suits you and it is ...PRINCESS." Mew happily cheered "EW EW EW EW EW EW EW MEW MEW" and happily went merrymaking.

Ash saw his Johto pokemons such as Heracross, Bayleef, Cyndaquil, Ariados, Flaaffy, Ladyba training. He asked them to continue with their weight and move training. Meanwhile Ash looked at Pikachu and the other five pokemon he planned to use in the battle against Bugsy. They looked at Ash and knew immediately that something was up. Ash put on his serious face and addressed them in a very inspiring tone "You six have battled in Indigo league and know how tough battles can be. Sometimes we have to persevere through pain to win a match. Do you love the challenge?"

They all made various sounds that literally meant to Ash _**"We are up for the challenge."**_

"Do you want to fight stronger opponents?" They all nodded positively again.

"Okay then. Tomorrow evening at six we are challenging the Azalea town Gym leader again for a rematch against his veteran and personal team. You all will have a one-on-one match tomorrow. So let's start some last minute training. Because tomorrow morning there will be no training for you guys. Only the new ones will be trained."After saying that Ash and the pokemons started training in perfecting the moves which were unfinished or needed a bit more finesse. The training continued till midnight because every pokemon Ash had selected for the gym battle was having the same thought of showing its own power the next day and wanted to train for a longer time than usual.

Chapter End

 **A/N:** As you can see a lot of the things in this chapter are way different than the movie, manga or anime. I will change some things like these in the upcoming chapters. My updates will not be frequent. Once in a month I will try to post. The number of words per chapter may vary between a thousand words to a maximum of ten thousand words. If it goes up I will split it into two chapters. I am going to focus on how to continue it. BYE for now.


	2. Chapter 2: Ep: 28 - A step for power

**A/N:** This is a continuation of the story "Chronicles of the chosen one: Pokemon Master" by Nateman364 . I loved the story so much that after it was put on Permanent Hiatus I decided the story deserves at least a finish of the Johto Journeys. So, I tried to contact the Author but could not get a reply. So I continued the Johto journeys. I want to complete at least the Johto journeys. So, before reading the story read the story by Nateman364. The link to the story is s/8033836/1/COTCHO-PM-Permanent-Hiatus. Then I want to declare that I DO NOT OWN POKEMON BUT THE IDEA FROM HERE ON IS MINE, SOME OF WHICH ARE INFLUENCED BY SOME OF THE STORIES I HAVE READ. So, let's continue with the story.

 **Ch-28** **-** **A step for power**

(Azalea town gym)

Ash was standing in the middle of the field along with Bugsy surrounded by a lot of trees. Bugsy said to Ash "There are some rules for the match. This match will be an official one. The video footage will be stored in your trainer profile whether you win or lose. Only pokemon league officials, I and of course you will be able to see this match and any other future battles like this. But the standard Gym battle for the gym badges will be available for public eyes. Same goes for other gyms too. Do you agree?" Ash nodded in positive and said "Thanks for informing." Then Bugsy shook hands with Ash and both went to opposite sides of the field. Suddenly Ash released Heracross, Bayleef, Cyndaquil, Ariados, Flaaffy, Ladyba from their pokeballs and asked them to go to stands and watch the battle carefully and learn from them. The pokemon were very happy. They were very young. Hence seeing a group of veteran pokemon fight it out was a real joy and learning process for them. It was one thing to train under them; but it was totally another thing to watch them battle. So they cheered happily and went to the stands in sidelines. Then an official referee came in and started explaining the rules.

"This is an official Six-on-Six pokemon battle between the Azalea town Gym leader Bugsy and challenger Ash Ketchum from Pallet town in Kanto. All league rules are in order. Both trainers are allowed to use six pokemon each for battle. The challenger is allowed to substitute only ONCE during the ongoing battle. If substituted more than once then the trainer will be disqualified. Moves like Baton pass, U-turn are allowed. If a trainer loses three pokemon, then there will be a fifteen minute break. Now trainers choose your first pokemon."

Both trainers shouted "Go Pokeball."

In front of Bugsy materialised a golden pokemon who was flying. It was the rare evolved form of Nincada, a bug/ghost dual type pokemon named Shedinja. In the pokemon world it was one of the coveted bug type pokemon. In front of Ash materialised a dual horned stag beetle pokemon. It was a strong looking pokemon quite bigger and muscular than the other pokemons of its species that showed it was well trained and groomed. It was his Pinsir. Both pokemon stared each other trying to gauge one another. "You have a Pinsir too. Wow. It is one of my favourites even among bugs."Bugsy cheered like a little child seeing another bug under Ash's command.

The referee announced "Battle between Pinsir vs Shedinja BEGIN."

 **[Pinsir vs Shedinja]**

As soon as Shedinja materialised Ash wanted to test his theory about the ability of this Shedinja. So he ordered "Pinsir use _Rock slide"._ The attack didn't damage Shedinja. Ash scowled. _"Damn. It has wonder guard ability." he thought._ Bugsy on the other hand smirked.

Bugsy: "Shadow sneak."

Ash: "Take it using Iron defence. Then follow up with swords dance." Ash ordered in his stony and calm face and voice which he had learned through battling for so long. He developed this feature only during battle so not to allow his opponent to read what he is thinking during battle and take advantage of it.

Pinsir's skin glowed for a while before Shedinja attacked it. Pinsir grunted a bit but otherwise started to rotate and charged the swords dance sharply increasing its attack power. Bugsy called back Shedinja to prepare for next move.

Bugsy: "If it can take physical attacks then change tactics. Rapid-fire _Shadow balls_ Shedinja."

Shedinja formed back to back purple ghostly balls and fired them at Pinsir which hit it dead on and formed a dust cloud. When the dust cleared Bugsy saw a relatively unscathed Pinsir rotating inside a golden dome showing it had used _Protect_ to save itself from the attack while using _Swords dance_ further increasing its attack power. Bugsy scowled again. On the other hand Ash was smirking inside his mind _"Thank god that my pokemon learnt during the training to use Protect to defend them rather than taking it head on if I gave no command."_ Soon Pinsir came to a stop showing its already muscular body further bulged due to effect of Swords dance.

Bugsy: "Shedinja. _Will-O-Wisp_." As soon as the words left Bugsy, Shedinja fired the ethereal flames at Pinsir.

Ash: "Double team followed by Focus energy."Pinsir instantly followed. Soon several copies of Pinsir formed and all glowed red showing the effect of the moves. The flames hit a copy making it dispersed.

Bugsy was now thinking _"Damn. He is too good. The Pinsir is well trained. He has already countered my every move. Well let's see how you deal with this, Ash."_

Bugsy: "Shedinja. _Mind reader_ and _confuse ray_ followed by _X-scissor_." Shedinja followed the orders and fired a wisp of confusing aura towards the original and raced towards Pinsir forming a cross in front of itself.

Ash knew he has to make Pinsir avoid the confuse ray. Otherwise he will be in trouble. Thankfully Ash knew what he was doing. So, he ordered "Pinsir _Substitute_ and wait for my command" Pinsir instantly formed a copy of itself that took the Confuse ray and negated the effect but thanks to the Mind reader all copied formed by Double team instantly dispersed. So there was now a single Pinsir on the field. Bugsy was surprised at the ingenious way to avoid the Confuse ray. Then suddenly Shedinja hit the substitute and broke it using the X-scissor. But then it moved forward towards the seemingly vulnerable Pinsir. As ordered "NOW deflect it using Swords dance once more."

Soon Pinsir started to rotate and Shedinja crashed against it and pushed it. Bugsy smirked at the seemingly upper hand he gained but soon he was shocked when the red coloured rotating Pinsir deflected the X-scissor along with Shedinja towards a tree to its right because of its rotation. The Shedinja shot like a bullet towards the tree due to the extra speed provided by Pinsir and crashed into the tree uprooting it along with several more trees showing the power behind the X-Scissor. A loud BOOM was heard followed by a bruised Shedinja who was panting severely thanks to the powerful attacks. On the other side Pinsir was also panting but slightly and thanks to swords dance its already muscular body showed a lot more vein on its body.

Bugsy knew that something was up. Because Ash never attacked during the battle. His pinsir only defended and deflected the moves. But in the flow of battle he had ignored the fact that Pinsir had used Iron defence once for defence but Swords dance thrice for defence along with focus energy. He should not have allowed it. Now Pinsir will have a higher Critical hit ratio. Well he can't change what was done already. So he ordered "Shedinja _Phantom Force_." Shedinja disappeared from the field to prepare for the move which would hit in next turn.

Ash knew he had to take the hit to see what the move was because he had only heard of it but never seen it used before. "Pinsir wait for it. Be on guard. When you sense Shedinja use Iron Defence." Pinsir followed and soon sensed something coming at him from its behind. He twirled and crossed his hands in front of him and glowed like a glass showing the use of Iron Defence. The Shedinja encased in a black energy crashed straight into Pinsir. There was a loud "BOOOOOOM" resulting the sound of the crash. Pinsir grunted loudly and skidded on its legs a few inches even after using Iron Defence, signifying that the Phantom Force was indeed powerful. But the Shedinja was panting more. Bugsy knew his pokemon had two to three moves left before going out of order. So he ordered another _Phantom Force_ attack intending to take the Pinsir along with it who was panting as well. Ash on the other hand knew his Pinsir was a tank in taking punishment but he was impressed even more when it took so many powerful attacks from a powerful and well trained pokemon like Shedinja and still standing and was in better condition than its opponent who was seemingly ready to drop at any moment now. He thought all the training he put for it in New Island and its drive to fight as well. In fact the pokemon knew its species was considered inferior to many other bug types, so he accelerated his training even when Ash was on the move and Pinsir was in New Island with other pokemons.

Ash: "Pinsir use _Knock off_ to counter the _Phantom Force_." Pinsir was happy to finally attack rather than defend all the time. Soon his hand was surrounded in black energy showing the use of the dark move and hit the Purple energy clad Shedinja. Being at a type disadvantage this time the Wonder Guard ability didn't protect Shedinja and its Phantom Force instantly disappeared under the Swords dance enhanced Knock off.

Bugsy knew he was screwed. That dark move was completely unexpected. Thank god it wasn't a critical hit or Shedinja would have been a goner. But his Shedinja was now spent. Sighing he ordered "Shedinja Aerial Ace. Pour everything you have left with." hoping to at least doing some damage to the Pinsir using the super-effective flying type move. That Pinsir was well trained to be able to take his Shedinja's attacks like that and shrug it like nothing and still stand. But hearing Ash's next command he became sure that this round was lost.

Ash: "Pinsir. _Protect_ and follow up with your _Feint Attack_ using everything you have got." Pinsir erected the golden dome again on time to defend against Shedinja. The aerial ace crashed into the dome but could not penetrate it. Soon Shedinja was out of energy. At the exact moment Pinsir surrounded itself with dark energy. Thanks to multiple Swords dance the move was way too powerful than a regular move. Soon Pinsir was a black orb and crashed straight into Shedinja. Thanks to the effect of Focus energy this time the move was a critical hit and Shedinja shot like a cannon and was past Bugsy in the blink of an eye. Shedinja crashed into a group of trees making a loud BANG and was knocked out. Everyone was silent at the power behind the unavoidable Dark type move performed by Pinsir.

"Shedinja is unable to battle. Pinsir is the winner. Gym leader choose your next pokemon." The referee announced breaking the silence.

 _[Pokemon POV]_

 _Heracross, Bayleef, Cyndaquil, Ariados, Flaaffy, Ladyba who were watching the fight in sidelines cheered loudly at the result. All of them were born and brought up in the forests. So they knew how powerful wild Shedinjas were from their jungle-mates or from their parents. But after training under Ash they realised that if a regular Shedinja was powerful then this Shedinja pinsir knocked out was even more powerful being a trained pokemon. It showed that using all those powerful and highly echoing sounds throughout the battle. They knew pinsir as a family member in new island. But they never knew he was so powerful to knock out a pokemon like this Shedinja. The bug types like Ledyba, Ariados were starry eyed at the still glowing and raring to go Pinsir. Heracross on the other hand was thinking that "He is mature and way too powerful than those wild pinsirs from which Ash saved me. He can knock all of them even if they outnumber him twenty to one. Hell he can easily defeat me even if I team up with the other three Heras and I am said to be the strongest among the johto team. I need to step up my training if I want to catch up to him. He will be a worthy partner. He never said he was so strong during our spars. Now I know he was holding back or I would be toast. If Ash can make him that strong he can make me strong as well. I need to concentrate on these battles. There is so much to learn." Suddenly Cyndaquil being a baby claimed "Take that you evil ghostly bug. I could have incinerated you, but what uncle pinsir did is acceptable as well." At this Heracross narrowed his eyes and asked "So you think you can defeat us just because we are bug types and you are a fire type who can't burn his own fire instantly?" Cyndaquil paled at this and bravely albeit at a low tone answered "Well I think what I wanted to say came out wrong. Though I can definitely burn you with my fire even if I can't control it, but I don't want to fight uncle Pinsir. He is way too scary. You saw what he did to his opponent? Man. He never showed so much power during our spars. Now I know he always held back. But Let me evolve at least once and I will definitely challenge him. Hell at this stage he will not even feel my fire type moves if he could shrug those BOOM BANG sounding attacks like that. Those were definitely powerful moves." Ariados, Bayleeef and Flaaffy agreed to this although Heracross scowled at the show of disrespect by Cyndaquil towards him but seeing the respect and fear Cyndaquil had for Pinsir after this match he resolved to up his training to earn the same kind of respect._

 _Bayleef suddenly said gaining their attention "Guys. If Ashy can train a pinsir to the point that he can defeat a supposedly undefeatable Shedinja because of their mystical ability, then imagine how powerful he can make us?" She went to her Ash-worship mode after that and squealed. Flaaffy being relatively new to this entire training thing said "Definitely. After seeing this battle I realised that the older pokemon we saw in the island should be much more powerful. We are new at this being a few months into our training. But what about the pokemon like those older pokemons Ash has. Like those two big Charizards. If pinsir can do this, then all those things like 'the charizard-duo being able to decimate whole teams and herds' from those other pokemons must be true."_

 _Ariados replied "In the forest nobody respected me while I was a spinarak because I am a bug. But if pinsir can do this, then whatever you said must be true about those scary fire breathers. But I have never seen them in battle. This is the first time I am seeing them against real opponents. I definitely want to watch more and this is our chance to learn from them. In time I think we will become that powerful if we train more."_

 _Ledyba being a curious one asked "If Pinsir is this powerful as a bug and we are supposedly new and very weak, then what about those pokemon who we meet daily but still they don't want to battle us because they can damage us supposedly with their power. Like of course the Charizard and Pikachu. Don't even ask about the legendary birds. I don't like birds. I have seen them once in the New Island and they extrude power, way too much power. I don't even know how powerful madam Mew and Sir Striker are. All the pokemon I have met claim that the mew-duo are the strongest of us all. Now I think that must be true. I definitely want to see them battle." All of the pokemon agreed and concentrated once again towards the next battle._

 _[Pokemon POV over]_

As soon as the announcement was made Pinsir cheered loudly "PIIIIIINNNNNN SSSSSIIIIRRRRRRR" showing that he was indeed happy after showing its power. Bugsy recalled his Shedinja. Now he was pumped up. This trainer defeated his Shedinja with pure strategy and ingenious skills. Now it was time to lift the game. So he said "Well played Ash. Now let's see how you do against this pokemon." He then threw a pokeball and outcame a medium sized dragonfly like pokemon. It was forest green in colour and it was making a kind of buzzing sound while flying. Ash recognised it immediately thanks to all those studying he did on the insistence of Mewtwo and Prof. Oak. It was Bug/Flying dual type Yanmega, the evolved form of Yanmeta. He was cent percent sure that this pokemon must have the ability they are so famous for " _SPEED BOOST_ ". That means the longer the battle continues the faster they will become. So Bugsy wants to step up the game. Then he will get it. He saw pinsir still raring to go. He will take advantage of that. But will also give his next pokemon a chance to fight. He will get one chance to switch Pinsir unless he wanted to get disqualified. So, he made up his mind and ideas started to form in his head.

"Yanmega vs Pinsir. Battle begin."The ref announced.

[ **Yanmega vs Ash's pokemon** ]

As soon as the referee announced Bugsy ordered "Yanmega _Air slash_ follow up with _Ancient Power_."Yanmega threw two white crescent shaped energy swords towards Pinsir at an impressive speed.

Ash knew if any of the attacks hits then Yanmega's already impressive speed will further improve. So he commanded "Pinsir use _Double team_ to dodge the Air slash and follow up with _Protect_ to defend against Ancient power. I know you are tired. But don't let the attacks hit you." Pinsir followed as said and was successful to defend against both attacks. The air slash destroyed two of its copies while Ancient power could not break the Protective dome. But thanks to the additional effect of Ancient power Yanmega glowed light blue signifying each of its stats increasing one stage. It became even faster and started to move around Pinsir at eye-blinking speed.

Bugsy wanted to take advantage of it. He saw pinsir was panting heavily. So to take it out of the game he ordered "Yanmega. _Sonic Boom_ followed by _Quick attack_." Ash knew he can't risk using protect again.

Ash: "Pinsir take the sonic boom and catch the yanmega with _Vicegrip_."The sonic boom attack hit pinsir making it grunt in pain but when Yanmega hit pinsir again with quick attack Ash shouted "NOW" and pinsir caught Yanmega tightly using its scissor like horns. "Now pinsir. Use Stone Edge." Ash ordered pinsir to use the powerful physical move with high critical hit ratio. Pinsir grunted and performed the move on Yanmega. Soon Yanmega was hit with a huge human sized boulder and was thrown like a baseball. It hit the ground heavily and the effect of stone edge was seen when Yanmega was seen sporting a gash on its head which was bruised. Pinsir went on one knee though after using so much power. Ash knew Yanmega was seriously damaged thanks to the swords dance and focus energy enhanced Stone Edge attack of pinsir. So he took pinsir's pokeball and directed towards the said pokemon "You have done your work. Now take a nice long rest. Let the others do their job as well." Soon pinsir was recalled. He threw another pokeball and from it a violet coloured butterfly pokemon materialised. Seeing it Bugsy squealed again and said "Wow another bug pokemon. A Venomoth. If I didn't know any better I would have thought you are a bug type trainer like me, Ash." Ash beamed at the praise by a bug type specialist.

The ref announced "The challenger has used his only chance to change the pokemon during battle for this round. The battle may continue."

Bugsy saw his Yanmega who was very bruised and tired thanks to the surprise Stone edge attack of Ash's pinsir. Bugsy asked "Yanmega. _Air slash_ again follow it up with _Giga drain_ " Ash saw through Bugsy's ploy to help Yanmega gain some energy for battle. So he ordered "Use _Protect_ against the _Air slash_. Then _double team_ to evade that _Giga drain_. Then use _poison fang_. Immediately follow up with _Quiver dance_." Venomoth followed everything Ash said to T and Yanmega was soon on the ground after being poisoned thanks to the poison fang from Venomoth. Bugsy was shocked to see his second pokemon so damaged at such an early stage of battle. He desperately asked it to perform supersonic to confuse Venomoth. Ash saw how desperate Bugsy was getting. He saw no point in dragging the battle. So he decided to end the battle and ordered "Use Psychic to hold it in place before it can perform supersonic. Then Finish it with Venoshock." Venomoth glowed blue signifying the use of psychic. Then he shot a purple beam at Yanmega at a very fast speed. Thanks to the quiver dance the attack was even more powerful. Adding to the misery that Yanmega was poisoned already the Venoshock attack when hit did double the usual damage and Yanmega fainted immediately.

"Yanmega is unable to battle. Venomoth is the winner. Gym leader choose your next pokemon." The referee announced. Bugsy thanked Yanmega after recalling it. Then he threw another pokeball from which emerged a brown coloured pokemon just like Ash had used moments before, a Pinsir. Though it looked as healthy and strong but it was smaller than Ash's Pinsir and not so muscular either. Ash saw it and appreciated another pokemon of its kind and wanted to test its power. The referee announced. "The gymleader chose Pinsir. Pinsir vs Venomoth battle begin."

 **[Pinsir vs Ash's pokemon]**

Bugsy ordered "Pinsir Xiscissor". Pinsir charged at Venomoth forming a glowing X. Ash wanted test the power of the pinsir. So he ordered "Venomoth, Use aerial Ace against it." Venomoth charged forward. Soon Pinsir and Venomoth crashed into each other. Both trainers could see the brief power struggle between the pokemons. Then there was a small explosion and both of the pokemon were thrown back significantly. Ash could see the pinsir was powerful because it could stand against a superior type of move, but still not at the level of his pinsir though. Bugsy was shocked because he thought the Venomoth was a special type but seeing it stand-still against his pinsir he realised that Ash trained it physically as well. So he ordered "Pinsir. Stone Edge."The pinsir threw a boulder the size of a basketball at Venomoth. As saw the rock type move and ordered "Venomoth _Protect_. Then use _Quiver dance_." Venomoth erected the dome which saved it from the incoming rock. Then started dancing increasing its respective stats again. Bugsy saw Venomoth increase its stats again. So he ordered "Pinsir. Catch that venomoth with vice grip and finish with Guillotine." Pinsir caught the Venomoth between its glowing horns and started to gather energy to perform the Guillotine. Ash knew if the attack hit then his Venomoth will be a goner. So he ordered "Venomoth quick. Before pinsir performs the guillotine use _Poison bomb_ point blank." Pinsir was almost done but Venomoth was faster; so he performed the poison bomb as soon as Ash gave the order and there was a loud clashing sound forming a thick dust cloud. Both trainers waited with baited breath. Bugsy was hoping for his pinsir to have finished Venomoth with the devastating combo. But when the dust was settled he saw that instead the Poison bomb had hit pinsir and it poisoned his pinsir. Ash saw it too. So without giving Bugsy time to recover asked "Venomoth use Venoshock once more and use _Baton Pass_." Bugsy saw the devastating combo again and ordered pinsir to dodge. But pinsir could not muster energy to dodge and was hit with the purple beam of poison immediately which was stronger than before thanks to the previous one used against Yanmega. So he thanked whoever deity there was when he saw that his pinsir was still standing after taking such a dangerous attack albeit barely and panting heavily. Soon Venomoth used Baton pass to go into its pokeball and another pokemon materialised from a new pokeball. It was a green coloured mantis pokemon who swung its scythes throwing away the wooden covers protecting them. It was wearing a shiny steel object which Bugsy recognised a Metal coat. Then scythe started to move very fast evading pinsir's eyes and showing its speed. Bugsy was like a school going child again. "Wow a Scyther. I have seen this one in the Indigo league. It is the same one right?" Ash confirmed "Yes, the very same. He is my first pinsir. He wanted to test his mantle against one of his fellow bug types. So as soon as he heard I am fighting you he insisted to fight. Bugsy nodded.

Ash: "Scyther show him your speed. Use _Slash_." Scyther moved very fast.

Bugsy knew if the attack hit then his pinsir would bbe a goner. So he ordered "Pinsir defend using Harden." Pinsir had recovered from the Venoshock and glowed glassily before Scyther could hit him. But still it didn't save him from the Slash attack. It was a critical hit and for the second time in the match Pinsir went on one knee. Bugsy knew the round was almost over. So to do at least damage the Scyther he ordered "Pinsir summon as much energy you can and catch the scyther's scythes. Then use Storm throw." Scyther was caught off guard. Pinsir used the storm throw and started to rotate holding Scyther and threw him. Thanks to the rotation Scyther was dazed. So he could not avoid crashing into a tree in time and cried out "Scy". Bugsy smirked thinking finally he had damaged one of Ash's pokemon. But when Scyther returned to the battlefield he didn't see him damaged rather irritated and angry. He saw his pinsir panting heavily after using the move and thanks to the effect of the poison. So to do more dmage asked "Pinsir one final Struggle bug before going out." Ash saw Bugsy's desperation and shook his head. So he ordered "Scyther show them your speed. Dodge the move while moving forward then finish it with Air slash." So, Scyther used the speed to dodge the desperate bug type move and threw two crescent shaped wind scythes from its wings. Thanks to the baton pass Scyther's special stats were heightened and the flying type move hit pinsir knocking it out immediately. But the thing that surprised everyone was immediately after the win Scyther started to cry "Scy" again and again before glowing white signifying evolution. Soon the light faded and in place of Scyther stood a red, metal, ant-like pokemon with yellow and black patterns on its pincers which resembled an eye pattern. Bugsy immediately recognised it. Because it was one of his favourite pokemon even among bugs, the Bug/Steel type evolution of Scyther. So he said "Congratulations Ash on evolving Scyther." Ash thanked him. Bugsy thought something though _"This scizor is way too powerful than a standard Scizor. I have seen a few well taken care of ones in my life, but this one seems a league ahead of them. I know generally a scizor stands at a height of five to five and a half feet, but this one is easily standing over six feet with much bigger pincers on it than the standard ones too. The scyther from whom it evolved must have been trained at a very high level to provide a newly evolved pokemon this much strength. Man, this Ash Ketchum seems to me like an unbeatable opponent. From where does he get all these powerful pokemon, especially the bugs?"_

"Pinsir is unable to battle. Scizor is the winner. As one trainer has lost three pokemon it is time for the official break." The referee announced. Bugsy thanked Pinsir after recalling it. He then went to the bench to sit on after the thrilling first half to think about his next moves.

Ash went to the pokemons on sidelines and asked "Hope you guys enjoyed the battles. I wanna tell you see this and keep training. In time, once I deem you ready, you all will be fighting in all these kinds of high level battles in future."All pokemons hollered out loudly. Thanks to the empathetic ability Ash has developed after training with Mewtwo he could feel the happiness his new and young pokemons were emitting after seeing the senior members battle. So he smiled at them and went to his side of bench to contemplate about his next moves.

 _[Pokemon POV start]_

 _Heracross, Bayleef, Cyndaquil, Ariados, Flaaffy, Ladyba were happy that their trainer asked them if they liked the battles and they definitely wanted to fight these kinds of powerful pokemons. Then bayleef squealed "Ashy asked us if we liked the bathe battle or not. I definitely love it. Once I train some more I will battle like Venomotha and Scizor too." All other pokemon rolled their eyes at her, but they agreed with her on one thing that is they definitely wanted to prove their worth and wanted to defeat pokemons like those Shedinja, Yanmega in future._

 _Heracross then commented "Well if Pinsir was something then Venomoth and Scyther sure showed that they can outmatch even him in terms of power. Man I never knew that butterfly lookalike was so strong. Don't even ask about Scyther. He was already stronger than me when I sparred with him. Now that he evolved he looks even scarier than before. I think at this moment he is the strongest bug type Ash has. I seriously need to step up my training." Everyone agreed with him._

 _Then cyndaquil sulked "Man if uncle pinsir looked scary then uncle Venomoth and Scizor changed my view of bug pokemons completely. That poison combo of uncle Venomoth can knock me in one set only and uncle Scizor though twice at disadvantage due to his typing against my fire type moves can probably kick my ass all the way to Sunday. I need to go to uncle Charizards to get some tips before my next battle." All the others laughed at his antics._

 _Ariados on the other hand was on a fan-girl mode and worshipped Venomoth "I definitely want to learn that poison type attack combo from venomoth. That has some serious potential. He took out one pokemon and probably would have taken out that Pinsir if Ash had not changed him. He is a fellow Bug/Poison type like me. I need to learn everything from him once Ash leaves me at New Island next time." Everyone again laughed at this._

 _Flaaffy said "Looks like time's up. The referee is going to announce the next match. Let's see who our trainer uses up next. I would like to see Pikachu once though. Everyone says despite his small size he is one of the fittest and strongest pokemon on Ash's squad." Ledyba commented "Yeah. You would love it. Won't you? After he stomped you during the mock battle I think you were head over heels for him. Didn't you?" Flaaffy said "Shut up. I just want to see his actual power. Nothing else"_

 _[Pokemon POV over]_

The referee then announced "Time is up. Trainers please choose your pokemons. Challenger choose your pokemon first." Ash threw his pokeball and once again came out his newly evolved Scizor. On the other hand from Bugsy's pokeball came out a deep blue beetle like pokemon with a big horn on its head. It was a pokemon seeing which all the pokemon standing on sidelines blinked surprisingly because it was a Heracross but it had a more rugged body and serious look showing it was battle hardened. Ash saw the pokemon and instantly became eager as well as on guard. Just looking at it he got that in the second round Bugsy will send out his three strongest pokemon. It will truly test his training and the areas in which he needed to improve. But he was ready. He had scanned his Scizor during the break and knew his pokemon had some serious sets of moves after evolution and as soon as he send him to new island he will start training in perfecting the moves as well as add some new attacks in his arsenal. The referee announced "Heracross vs Scizor battle begins."

 **[Heracross vs Ash's pokemon]**

Ash wanted to test Scizor's speed. So he ordered "Scizor _Agility_ into _double team_. Don't let him hit you. Use your speed."As soon as the order was given there were multiple Scizors on the field. Thanks to the agility the duplicates created by double team were multiplied to the point that the field was filled with hundreds of Scizor confusing Heracross. Bugsy scowled knowing that before he could move Ash had already played his card confusing his Heracross. So he ordered "Don't let it confuse you Heracross. Use _Harden_ to prepare if it attacks and then use _Swords dance_ to defend yourself from all sides." Bugsy ordered effectively increasing Heracross's Defence and Attack power. But Scizor didn't attack, it just kept evading. Ash wanted to see the speed and stamina of Scizor and by far he was satisfied.

Bugsy ordered "If he is not going to attack then use _work up_ and follow up with chip away."The attack hit destructing a good number of duplicates. So Bugsy ordered "Then use Mega Horn through the crowd and go straight into the middle of them all. Then start performing Swords Dance again." Ash saw it and ordered "Scizor _Agility_ once more into _Iron Defence_." Soon all the Scizors started shining showing the use of Iron Defence. Bugsy countered "Heracross blind them all using _Megahorn_ on the ground. Then use _Focus blast_ on the ground to create a shockwave to destroy all the copes." Before Ash could command all the duplicates were destroyed leaving the original Scizor who was moving like a blur to eye but thanks to the dust cloud resultingfrom the megahorn he halted so as not to crash into surrounding trees. Bugsy took advantage of it "Heracross use _Aerial Ace_ to reach him and hit it with a _super power."_ Before Ash could command anything Scizor was hit creating another crash resulting a dust cloud. Bugsy was smirking because he was finally able to hit the speedy Scizor." But when the dust created his smirk vanished leaving him shocked with wide eyes because when the dust was clear Heracross was standing against Scizor but despite using an enhanced move like Super power thanks to previous Swords dances Scizor didn't budge rather both Scizor and Heracross were in a standstill. Bugsy thought _"That Super power didn't even budge the Scizor. Looks like that Iron defence was sturdier than I thought. Even then I would have expected the Scizor to at least take some damage. Looks like Scizor is stronger than what I first thought despite having evolved recently if it can take hits like those and still stand like nothing happened."_ Ash ordered "That's enough Scizor. I got that you are strong. We have to enhance your training further now. So, use a point blank Aerial Ace then use Baton Pass." Before Bugsy could order Heracross to dodge it was hit fiercely by the four times super-effective Flying type move which was powered up by Swords Dances. Heracross was blasted off the ground and after tumbling for a good thirty feet stopped on its back and groaned loudly signifying that the Aerial Ace had done a lot of damage by catching it off guard. Bugsy shook his head. He didn't expect that kind of unexpected move from Ash. That was ingenious. Now he realised why this kid barely into his second year as a trainer was considered as a Prodigy by so many elites. He encouraged Heracross "Get up. I know you are on your back. But try to go on your side and stand up." Heracross tried to get up but before he could stand Ash ordered "Pikachu Agility into Full power Volt Tackle." When Bugsy looked up he saw a yellow blur which was the Pikachu, suddenly appeared on the field and hit Heracross with such force thanks to the upgrades received from Scizor that Heracross was instantly unconscious. Pikachu didn't even take any recoil from that move showing his mastery over the move. Everyone on the sidelines was slack jawed seeing the power of the small yellow rodent.

The referee announced "Heracross is unable to battle. Pikachu is the winner. Gym leader choose your next pokemon." Bugsy was shocked after seeing one of his strongest fall to the tiny rodent in just only two moves. Bugsy was always proud of himself for being one of the eight strongest gym leaders of Johto but this ketchum guy's Pikachu made his pokemon look like child's play. Well Let him face his next pokemon. He threw his next pokeball and a pokemon resembling a beehive with yellow and black striped abdomen like an elegant ballroom gown came out. It had orange face, red eyes, yellow mandibles, a red gem on its forehead and its head was similar to a headpiece with yellow and black projections.

Ash had studied pokemons from all regions but couldn't recall this pokemon. So, he scanned it with his pokedex. A mechanical voice described " _VESPIQUEN, the 'Beehive pokemon'. It is one of the rare female only species of pokemons. It houses its colony in cells in its body and releases powerful pheromones to make the COMBEE in its body do its bidding whil fighting foes."_ Ash wanted to see the pokemon battle. So, he didn't recall Pikachu. The referee announced "Vespiquen vs Pikachu battle begin."

 **[Vespiquen vs Ash's pokemon]**

Bugsy: "Vespiquen, attack order." small combees materialised from Vespiquen and sped towards Pikachu poising their stingers to attack him.

Ash saw it and ordered Pikachu to use _ThunderBolt_ them. The weak wisps fell down from the attack.

Bugsy: "Vespiquen, Power gem followed by Fell stinger." A beam shining like gemstones hurled towards Pikachu followed b multiple stingers. Ash knew the rock type move will be trouble if it hit Pikachu. So he ordered "Pikachu, _Dig_ and avoid those moves. Then come out under it to use _Nuzzle_." Pikachu did as ordered and came just under Vespiquen. Suddenly Bugsy ordered "Vespiquen, _Swagger_ followed by _defend order_." Ash was surprised as well because he didn't expect Bugsy to pull that off of nowhere. Now Pikachu was confused. But Ash smiled though because just before Vespiquen could perform Defend order to call up her underlings Pikachu connected with it effectively doing some damage as well as paralyzing it just before succumbing to confusion. Bugsy was baffled. He never expected that Pikachu to be fast enough to reach Vespiquen and paralyzing it. Now Vespiquen's already lagging speed lowered to one fourth of original speed. To add misery to his condition Ash ordered "Pikachu, Rain Dance." Rain Dance was a non-damaging move which Pikachu performed despite his confusion. Thanks to the downpour Pikachu was confusion-free and Vespiquen's wings became wet effectively stopping it from flying. Ash had developed these kinds of manoeuvres to counter several kinds of status problems he had faced during his journey through Kanto and Orange islands. Now all those training paid off. Ash ordered "Pikachu. _Agility_ while using _Charge_ into _electro Ball_." Bugsy knew that Pikachu will be much faster now that it used Agility and thanks to the Paralysis Vespiquen was already slower. The Electro ball, if hit will be too much even for his defence oriented Vespiquen. So he ordered "Vespiquen, _Defend order_." Vespiquen called upon her underlings to form a defencive wall in front of her. But the Electro Ball shining brightly like a sun, already powered up by the Charge pierced the Defend order like a hot knife through butter causing a loud explosion. When everything was cleared everyone could see the Vespiquen on the ground and all the combees it had summoned out of order. Ash was impressed. To stand up against his Pikachu's electro ball despite a type disadvantage and still not fainting was already a feat in it. Bugsy was shocked because his Vespiquen had taken a lot of electric attacks before but never was she so outclassed. She could take tonnes of electricity attack but that Electro ball was on a whole other league to ground his pokemon. On the other hand the Pikachu looked barely winded after all those physical manoeuvres. He ordered "Vespiquen. Use Heal order to regain some energy."But thanks to the dwindling number of combees she barely regained some energy to fly. Before Ash could order any command Bugsy asked "Ash. I know you want to fight fare and square. But I would like to request you to use at least one of the legendary mew duos. I know they are weak against bug types being Psychic types. But still I want to fight them. I would be honoured to battle them after watching them in the Indigo Plateau as well as the Orange crew chief." Ash smiled and thought _"Are you ready to go against him and probably his strongest pokemon?"_ He got mental replies of _"As you wish'and 'Ew ew ew' "_ So he said "Ok. Pikachu come back." Pikachu went to Ash's side and Ash threw his from his inside pokebelt. Bugsy saw it was a pure light pink pokeball. Then Ash said "Come out Princess. It's time to play". In an instant the pink coloured feline Mew came out and twirled in front of them. She started to move around Bugsy and Vespiquen and chanted "Mew ew ew"

The referee announced "The challenger has used his only chance to change the pokemon during battle for this round. The battle may continue."

Bugsy ordered "Vespiquen, Air slash into Fell stinger." He expected to deal some damage to the legendary pokemon. But when the attack went near Mew she twirled so fluidly to dodge the moves without Ash even ordering it that Bugsy was gobsmacked. Then he said "Vespiquen, Attack using Attack order." Ash retorted "Mew Nasty plot into Fire Blast." As soon as the words left Ash Mew increased her special attack sharply and threw a huge kanji of hot fire blast at least the size of a house towards the incoming Attack order. The fire type attack completely decimated the bug type move and engulfed the Vespiquen creating a huge inferno and earning a shearing Shriek from Vespiquen. Everyone had their eyes closed because of the light coming from the fire that was Vespiquen. When the light subsided everyone could see a blackened Vespiquen lying on the floor with swirled eyes. The referee, Bugsy and all younger pokemons standing in the sidelines were slack jawed seeing this. The Vespiquen who was going toe to toe against Pikachu one time was down for count so fast against Mew that it was not even laughable. Bugsy knew he was screwed. If one was this strong what about the other. But he relaxed a bit thinking that Vespiquen was weakened fighting Pikachu but his next pokemon was his strongest and was still fresh. With the thought he recalled Vespiquen and threw out his next pokeball. Ash too recalled mew and sent out his final pokemon and threw a deep purple pokeball. Both called out "Come out my friend. It's time to battle/ Materialise Striker." In front of Bugsy materialised a pokemon everybody had seen that day. It was the samepokemon Ash's Scyther evolved into. It was a Scizor. Unlike Ash's it was not overgrown, it stood out at a decent five feet but the thing that caught Ash's eyes was the Golden Green colour the Sczor was sporting signifying it was a Shiny pokemon. It started to jump in its place crying "Scizor" again and again. In front of Ash materialised a pokemon bipedal, humanoid pokemon with some feline features. It was primarily gray in colour with a long, purple tail which was swinging from side to side giving it an aggressive look. It was the other half of the mew-duo, the legendary Mewtwo. Mewtwo was hovering in the air, a couple of feet above the ground. Bugsy looked at the impressive and the only known pokemon of its species. He was impressed and thought _"He looks even stronger than before. In the Indigo league I have seen him. He was at least six and half feet tall from what I had heard then. But now he is easily over seven feet and he is a bit more muscle-clad in the arms' and abdomen. The swinging tail is a bit thicker and longer than before as well. He looks on a different level than the others. Only the Mew was giving off this kind of strong presence."_ Meanwhile, mewtwo who was reading Bugsy's thoughts opened his glowing blue eyes and said to Bugsy making him surprised _"Hello Gym-leader. I heard you wished to battle me and my sister. Ash here has agreed to use me in this battle. So, I am here to fulfil your wish. By the way whatever you have seen in the Indigo league is true. Don't think any other way, but I was a wild pokemon before that and had just started training. Now that I am training with Ash and Mew regularly for the last six to eight months, my body has grown as well as my physical and psychic abilities. Now let's not waste any more time and begin the battle."_

The referee who was wide eyed seeing the talking pokemon came out of stupor and announced "The final battle between Mewtwo vs Scizor begin."

 **[Mewtwo vs Scizor]**

Mewtwo connected with Ash mentally and asked _"Let's give him the battle of his life. I want to see how powerful I have grown after fighting against the orange crew leader. I'll take every attack the Scizor throws at me without dodging. From the looks I can guess that Scizor is well-trained. In a scale of 100 I will definitely level the scizor at a level of fifty five to fifty eight."_

Ash smiled and replied _"If you want to test yourself against a strong opponent then who am I to restrict you. Go on. But I want to see your offensive abilities. After I told Prof. Oak about your Signature move and how you have unlocked it, he theorised that a legendary pokemon who doesn't have access to his/her signature move from birth only learns it after he/she reaches at a very high level. He estimates you to be at a level the Elite fours' and the champions' pokemons are. Let's test his theory and see where we need to improve. I will give you only telepathic command from now on. So be ready and best of luck."_

Bugsy: "Scizor _Agility_ into _Night Slash_." Scizor enveloped its pincers wholly with black energy and sped towards Mewtwo using Agility. He hit Mewtwo straight but Mewtwo took the super-effective move head on without even budging. Bugsy was shocked that the dark type move didn't even phase the Psychic type.

Ash: "Very good Striker. Your type-defence training has paid off well. That was a very powerful Night slash indeed. Now that you have taken it head on without any command Bugsy will now panic. Let's intimidate him once more. Take any physical attack using _Barrier_ and the _Psychokinetic energy shield_ we have worked on. If any special move is nearing you then split it. Now get ready. He is coming again."

Bugsy: "Scizor, Swords dance into Bullet punch. Continue hitting it." Scizor increased its attack sharply before performing the steel type move. Its pincers glowed white and punched the hovering Mewtwo multiple times. Just before the moves could touch the psychic type though Mewtwo coated himself with a blue energy shield which absorbed every damage dealt to mewtwo by the bullet punches. Bugsy was frustrated. His strongest pokemon could not even shake the hovering legendary from its place. Scizors attacks were raining on it, but he was standing still there like a statue and Ash was not even giving it any command to dodge either. Was his Scizor so insignificant in the eyes of this pokemon that he didn't even deem it necessary to dodge the attacks?

So, he ordered again "Scizor don't get irritated. You need to calm down. Now swords dance once more and follow it with _X-scissors_." Scizor's attack power increased sharply again and a huge crescent shaped X formed in front of it. Scizor raced towards Mewtwo to damge him finally.

Ash: _"Mewtwo get ready. This bug type STAB move will finally test your defensive stats. Your defences have become a lot stronger than before though. Seems the time away from me have paid off well for you, what with all the travels you did to gather data about potential captures for our ever-growing family. Thanks for the research though."_

Finally Scizor crashed into the still hovering Mewtwo creating a huge explosion as big as the one created by Pikachu's Electro Ball showing the power behind the attack. Everyone waited with baited breath to see the result. Finally the debris from the explosion settled down and Bugsy's hope for any kind of doing damage to the legendary feline were crushed instantly seeing the scene and he thought with utter amazement _"Amazing. I am considered a prodigy when it comes to bug type pokemons, but even my strongest pokemon's strongest move could not budge the Psychic even with the type advantage. My Scizor is winded just by coming in contact with it showing its ability_ **PRESSURE.** _But to shrug off an attack of that magnitude truly shows the calibre of this mewtwo. Truly he is a pokemon unlike anyone I have ever seen. A true legendary in all aspects."_

Mewtwo replied "Don't get disheartened gym-leader. Your Scizor is indeed very powerful. To counter his attack I had to strengthen my defences even more which is a feat in itself." Bugsy nodded in reply thanking the pokemon for the complements.

Bugsy: "Ok. Scizor. Let's go out with a bang. Pour everything you have into a final _Giga Impact_." Soon Scizor was engulfed in a huge purple energy cloud as big as a small room and sped towards Mewtwo.

When Scizor was a few feet from Mewtwo Ash stopped using telepathy and ordered "It's time to show your power. Stop that Giga impact and crush Scizor using Psychic." As soon as Mewtwo heard the command he moved his tri-fingered hand in front of him and pushed slightly without even touching the Giga Impact. Bugsy was shocked at the result though. The small gesture dispersed the powerful normal type move like nothing at point blank range. Then Scizor was surrounded by a blue glow and in the blink of an eye its whole body started to compress. Within a few seconds Scizor was unconscious due to suffocation.

The referee announced "Scizor is unconscious. Mewtwo wins. As the Gym-leader has no more usable pokemon, the WINNER of the official six-on-six pokemon battle is the challenger Ash Ketchum." But no one commented at that because everyone except mewtwo and Ash were slack jawed at the display of power by Mewtwo. Soon, Bugsy came to the middle and shook hands with Ash congratulating him on the win. He sated "Thanks for the match. It was the best fight I have had till now as a Bug type trainer. You truly showed that type advantage is not everything. It is the will of the trainer and pokemon that matters. Thank you again for giving me the opportunity to fight against the powerful Mew-duo. Mew and Mewtwo both were impressive. They defeated two of my strongest pokemons without taking much damage. For the decisive win today I hereby award you with this Silver feather on your Azalea gym-badge."

Ash thanked him and pinned the feather to his badge in the badge-case. Then he asked "It was one of the best battles I had. If I didn't use the mew-duo then I think it would have been a close battle. I hope the gyms hereon will be more challenging though."

Bugsy smiled and said "Thank you. Now time to tell you the benefits of defeating the personal teams of the gym leaders. From now on every gym leader you battle and defeat will award you with one feather each till the fifth gym. The sixth, seventh and eighth gym leaders will award you with two feathers each if you are able to defeat their personally trained pokemons. The speciality of the feathers is every feather you win will extend one year each to your Johto league challenge. Let me explain briefly. If you want to take part in Johto league next year you will have to battle us again to earn your badges because the badges earned with the defeat of our regular pokemons will be valid for only one Johto league, but if you earn the feathers then you won't have to battle the gym-leaders again and again to participate in the Johto league. This means if you are able to attain all the ten feathers from the gym-leaders then you will be able to challenge the Johto league for the next ten years with the same badges you will earn this time. Additionally you will be able to challenge the personal teams of any gym-leader you want for the same time period. You can extend your time also up to a maximum of ten years at once. So, good luck for your future battles." Ash thanked him and started to go towards the pokemons standing in the sidelines to show the feather after recalling Mewtwo into his pokeball.

 _ **[Pokespeech activated]**_

 _After Mewtwo defeated the Scizor every pokemon like Heracross, Bayleef, Cyndaquil, Ariados, Flaaffy, Ladyba in the sidelines had their jaws on the ground with eyes as big as dinner plates. The first to speak was the baby Cyndaquil who loudly announced "Yippee. Ash won. Guys don't be silent. Cheer with me. But seriously what a battle. First uncle Pikachu was playing around the vespiquen of all things. They are supposed to be royalty right and very powerful. When I used to live in forest my friends once told me to respect the queen of bees because of their supposed army. I also believed them at that time. But seeing uncle Pikachu playing with a trained one rather than the untrained wild ones I really want to battle now. Don't even ask about aunt mew and uncle mewtwo. I want to thank my lucky stars for the days when they refused to battle me when I asked them. I would have been toast then. Hell I don't want to battle any of the older pokemons until I evolve at least once and I am definitely not going to challenge any one of those 'battle monsters' until I am fully evolved. Man, they are scary."_

 _Ariados further commented "Yeah what he said is true. While I was a spinarak the Ariadoses of my pack used to advice me not to go against one of those arrogant Vespiquens. I also believed them after I had seen them punish the ones crossed them, but Pikachu here was just toying with a well trained vespiquen of all pokemon. Then Mew and Mew two both decimated their opponents in one moves each despite the type disadvantage. Only ONE MOVE each it took to take down those powerful Vespiquen and Scizor. That Scizor was a shiny and well trained. It was definitely the strongest among all those pokemons used by the green haired kid (Bugsy). Despite that it could not even budge Mewtwo from his place and did you see how huge that Giga impact was, but still mewtwo dissipated it like nothing. For so long we have been estimating the power of the Mew-duo. Seeing them battle today I came to the conclusion that they are INSANELY powerful and this level of opposition is nothing for them. If the level of those challengers is anything to go by we have a long way to go before any of them will accept our challenge to spar."_

 _Flaaffy on the other hand was somewhat drooling and had a pink hue on her white fur. She was daydreaming loudly "Pikachu is so powerful. He completely destroyed all the underlings of that honeybee with one attack. That electro ball was so bright. In the forest our herd leader- Ampharos was struggling against a bunch of beedrills. I thought he was powerful, but Pikachu here can kick his ass six ways to Sunday without breaking a sweat. What a dense electic pool he has. Once he evolves into Raichu he will be even more powerful. Such a turn on just by thinking about it." Everyone snickered at that._

 _Hearcross said "If I was impressed by the older bug types, now I am even more inspired. That heracross was very strong, definitely much stronger than me. Despite that Pikachu defeated it. We need to learn a lot from them. This time, when we go to New Island we will train like never before so that one day they will accept to battle us without the fear of injuring us." Ledyba said "Definitely. After seeing Scyther's power boost after evolution, we learnt that the more we train our younger bodies the more power we will gain once we start evolution. So I am going to train to bone and master every move I can learn as a Ledyba before even thinking to evolve into a Ladian."_

 _Bayleef squealed in her fan-girl mode "Ashy won. Yes, whatever you said is true. If under Ash's training the bug types canbecome this stronger, I definitely want to see Vileplume, Leafeon, Parasect, Bulbasaur, Ivysaur and Venusaur fight. After all they are my fellow grass types and much more experienced than I. It would be a treat to watch those Grass type show their prowess."_

 _ **[pokespeech deactivated]**_

Soon they saw Ash coming their way and everyone cheered him seeing the Feather on the Badge. Bayleef even jumped on him with happiness. As laughed loudly at their antics. Then he recalled everyone and proceeded to the pokemon centre to treat his pokemon and to rest for the night. The next day Ash finally said good bye to Azalea town and went into Illex forest once more to continue his journey.

CHAPTER END

 **A/N:** You can see the rematch between Ash and Bugsy. This is how I think Ash should have helped his pokemon rather than almost abandoning them at the Professor Oak's ranch. Now that I have posted two chapters in quick succession I am going to take a break.

 **A/N 2:** All the moves used by the pokemons are adapted from from pokemon database as well as Bulbapedia. I looked at every move that can be learnt by leveling up, move tutor, using TM, using HM, transfer only moves, pre-evolution moves and egg moves both in X/Y and Black/White upto generation six and seven. Then I used whatever I felt preferable by the pokemon during fights.

 **A/N 3:** In my story a pokemon can have a minimum of one move and a maximum of two abilities. The abilities can be anything from all the abilities a pokemon can have. I used the Hidden ability as an ability that is activated upon evolution, because the concept of hidden ability is not preferred by me and I clearly could not understand how and when it is used. So, I completely merged the regular and hidden abilities as well as keeping a pokemon's abilities limited upto two so as not to get confused by so many abilities of a pokemon.

That is all. Thank you for reading.


	3. Chapter 3: Ep: 29 - The blue croc

**A/N:** This is a continuation of the story "Chronicles of the chosen one: Pokemon Master" by Nateman364 . I loved the story so much that after it was put on Permanent Hiatus I decided the story deserves at least a finish of the Johto Journeys. So, I tried to contact the Author but could not get a reply. So I continued the Johto journeys. I want to complete at least the Johto journeys. So, before reading the story read the story by Nateman364. The link to the story is s/8033836/1/COTCHO-PM-Permanent-Hiatus. Then I want to declare that I DO NOT OWN POKEMON BUT THE IDEA FROM HERE ON IS MINE, SOME OF WHICH ARE INFLUENCED BY SOME OF THE STORIES I HAVE READ. So, let's continue with the story.

 **Ep 29 - The Blue croc and some adventures**

It's been a few days since Ash left Azalea town. He was nearing the end of his Illex forest journey. He was sitting under a tree and watching all of his pokemon including his newly recalled Sylvia train together. He drifted a bit and recalled the small adventure he was in the day before.

[Flashback begin]

Ash was training with Sylvia and Pikachu was helping her in learning Iron tail. Suddenly they heard some kind of noise coming from not very far from there. Ash along with Pikachu and Sylvia went to investigate the situation. Soon the sounds became clearer. They followed the sounds and soon came near a clearing where a couple of pokemons were fighting against a hive of Beedrills over some berries. Ash didn't interfere. He wanted to see both pokemons' resolve. He somewhat recognised them, but he doubted the pokemons were from Johto region.

The first pokemon was a light pink pig like pokemon with circular eyes, large nose and small ears. The pokemon had stubby arms and spring like tail on which it was bouncing. On its head was a dark gray coloured pearl. Ash pointed his pokedex and the first thing he saw was the difference in colouration between the pokemon in the picture and the one fighting in front of him. Ash immediately knew that the pokemon was a _Shiny_. The pokedex informed in a mechanical tone _"Spoink, the 'Bounce pokemon'. Spoink bounces around on its tail. The pearl on its head which is supposed to be created by CLAMPERL helps to magnify its psychic powers. If a Spoink loses its pearl it grows extremely tired. This pokemon is a male and has the ability Own Tempo."_ So, Ash thought _"A psychic type from Hoenn region. I definitely want one of those types. It is a shiny too and it has guts. Let's see the second one."_

The second pokemon was a yellow, quadruped Dromedary camel like pokemon with a volcano-like hump on its back. The hump was green at top and faded into yellow with green dots towards bottom. The pokemon had sleepy eyes with short stubby legs. When Ash pointed towards it the pokedex informed in a mechanical tone _"Numel, the Numb pokemon. Numel is so complacent that it doesn't even notice when it is stuck. Its body is filled with hot magma, which, when cooled in water, rather slows its movement. They are unable to bear hunger but once eaten can go for a long time without food. This pokemon is a female. It has the ability Oblivious. It has the active secondary ability Simple."_ Ash thought _"Wow, a fire/Fround type. I won't mind having one either. Cyndaquil will be overjoyed"_ Suddenly an inferno of scarlet flames washed over all beedrills severely burning some of them. Pokedex immediately recognised it as _Lava plume_. The beedrils still kept attacking. The Spoink was suddenly hit with a twinneedle attack and fell down. After the Lava plume attack Numel was dead tired. Both pokemon looked at each other thinking it was the end for them seeing all the beedrils coming towards them poising their stingers. Suddenly they heard "That's enough Beedrills. If you want food take it. Don't hurt innocent pokemons." The beedrills didn't listen and instead charged at Ash. Ash shook his head and said "I don't like hurting pokemon, but in this case I can't help it." He threw his newly evolved scizor and ordered "Scizor, Bullet punch those beedrills. Pikachu finish them with Thunderbolt." Scizor and Pikachu charged with such ferocity that the beedrills were all down for count in no time. Spoink and Numel had never seen such powerful pokemons in their life. They were having a lot of trouble in just keeping the beedrills at bay, but these two pokemon came and just like that decimated the while swarm. Ash tuned towards them and asked them if they are alright but seeing them too tired to move said "You both need to be moved to my camp for treatment. So just wait." He then threw a pokeball and from it came out a pink bipedal pokemon who instantly teleported all of them to the 'camp'. He then applied some super potion on them and gave them some food which instantly returned all their lost powers. Then he left them to rest and went to train his own body and his pokemons.

[Pokespeech activate]

 _Spoink and Numel saw the training and saw a white bird-like pokemon there too. Soon Spoink said "Did you see that? The Pikachu and Scizor completely annihilated the beedrills. They are trained by this kid? Right? I think they are called Pokemon trainers. My parents were also caught by two trainers. He must be super strong. Then again I think the pink colour pokemon who teleported us all at the same time was the legendary mirage pokemon, Mew. Before I got separated from my group the seniors used to tell me that they are supposedly one of the strongest Psychic types out there. This kid has a mew. I could feel the overwhelming Psychic power coming from the mew even if it was for a brief moment. If I am not wrong then the white bird is a Psychic pokemon as well, but I have never heard or seen any other pokemon like that."_

 _Numel being the mature one replied "That's because it is another legendary pokemon and you don't see legendary pokemon everywhere. I have heard the lead Camerupt once saying that they live in deep sea because of their humongous power. To see one in the open alongside a Mew is no coincidence. This kid, from what we have seen so far is a strong trainer and from the vibes the pokemons are giving off loves his pokemon immensely. If we go with him he will definitely help us grow us stronger as well as help us evolve. Before that though he has to defeat us." Spoink nodded in agreement._

[Pokespeech deactivate]

Ash was training in the clearing when he felt the tug in his pants. He saw the Spoink and Numel doing it. So he greeted "Hey. You woke up. How are you two feeling? Everything is healed right?" The both of them nodded. Ash then asked "You know both of you are very special pokemons even though not native to this region. I don't know how did you end up here? When I saw you both fighting I just loved your guts to fight even if outnumbered. I have a proposition for you. If you want to get stronger, then come with me. You will never have to fight for food again. I have lots of pokemon in my family who will train with you and guide you. You will also be trained by me and will get a chance to see plenty of new places and pokemons. If you don't want to fight, then also you can come. I have some pokemon who don't like to fight. What do you say?"

Both Spoink and Numel were overjoyed that this human thought them unique and strong. So, they both were happy but then they looked at Ash and made some sounds which Ash could not understand. Then MewTwo, who was resting in his pokeball translated _"They also don't know how they came to this region. One day they opened their eyes and found themselves on a beach. Since then they are travelling together to explore this new land. They would love to come with you to get stronger, but after you defeat them."_ Ash thanked MewTwo and replied "If that's what you want, then be prepared for a double battle."

Ash threw two pokeballs from which Cyndaquil and Flaaffy came out. He said "Ok you two. Get ready to fight." Soon Spoink and Numel charged towards them using tackle. Ash ordered "Flaaffy _cotton spore_ followed by _electric terrain_ / Cyndaquil quick attack on Spoink followed by double kick on Numel." Due to cotton spore the speed of the two charging pokemon decreased and they were attacked by Cyndaquil. Both didn't know the small fire type was so strong. They both decided that they had enough and fired two powerful moves they had. Spoink charged using _Psybeam_ and Numel attacked with _Flame Burst_. Ash countered "Cyndaquil show Numel your own Flame burst. Flaaffy take that attack while using charge and then Shock wave." Cyndaquil followed Ash and soon both fire type moves crashed into each other. Numel poured everything she had but not being a trained pokemon, she soon felt her stamina decreased, but Cyndaquil just kept powering up after training under Ash. Soon Cyndaquil's attack crashed into Numel creating an explosion and defeating Numel at the same instant. Flaaffy through gritted teeth took the psybeam, but she kept using Charge. She knew she would have to up her type resistance and bearing damage training if she had so much trouble with the low level psybeam. Then she fired her Shock wave at Spoink. Thanks to the electric terrain adn charge the move was much more powerful than usual. So, as soon as it hit Spoink he lost conscious ness as well. Ash threw two Friend balls at them and both Numel and Spoink were sucked inside. As Ash hadn't sent his pokemons they were transferred to prof. Oak's ranch. Then Ash continued his journey through Illex forest.

[Flashback ends]

Ash smiled at the flashback. He could not transfer any pokemon because then he was in the interior of Illex forest and there was no internet connection. Now that he was in a more outer side of the forest he called Prof. Oak using Bill's gift. Prof Oak received the call on the other side.

Prof. Oak: "Hello Oak Ranch." Then he saw the picture of Ash on the video and said "Hello Ash. How is it going for you? You have not called me after the capture of Celebis. Everything alright in Johto I hope?"

Ash: "Don't worry professor. I am fine here. Following your advice I challenged Bugsy in Azalea and after defeating him got the feather on my badge. By the way he told me everything about the special privilege. Thanks for informing me. Without that I won't know about all that and my pokemon would have missed out their chances to show their power as well as gaining some quick experience."

Oak: "Oh. It's nothing that you didn't deserve. Your Celebis and the Tyranitar have mixed up quite well with the pokemons here. Tyranitar is especially happy seeing all those Houndours and is training with them regularly. The Celebis are a very friendly bunch. Thanks to them your mother's garden has grown up like a mini forest. She is especially attached with the lead Celebi as well as the small kid celebi who is always creating trouble by challenging pokemons it could not handle. You must take him with you sometime for some special training."

Ash: "Oh definitely professor. I have planned to train all my legendaries at once after I gain some more badges. Till then ask them all to train well and not to slack off. I am planning to buy the area surrounding Pallet town because the forest there is not a protected one by Govt. Then I want to open a restaurant for mom where she along with Mimey and some other pokemon who don't want to battle can help in running it. I think I will send all the pokemon who don't want to battle there. Mimey will be happy to get some fellow pokemon who love doing household works like her. It will earn enough income to bear all expenses of my pokemon. Besides mom will not feel lonely if she encounters with all the people and pokemon regularly. If I succeed in my venture the restaurant will be one of its kind in the regions as far as I know. Brock won't mind helping sometimes when he visits there. Would he?"

Oak: "You are getting mature day by day Ash. To think about expenses of your pokemon and using the pokemons who don't want to battle in a way that has never been thought of before will be a huge hit for sure. I guarantee it. A lot of hoteliers have been trying to open such a restaurant but have failed because of unavailability of the variety of pokemon plus the questions arise for pokemon being used to cook. But with you we have sufficient variety in pokemon as well as they are well trained. So there is no question in if they will follow order or not. Ingenious. With the amount of land you want to buy I have to talk to some Govt. Officials, but I think you will get it at a rather cheap price because as far as I know very few if anyone at all are interested in investing in this part of the southern Kanto peninsula. I think you take it almost guaranteed that the pallet forest as well as the land surrounding my ranch are yours. Your winnings from Indigo as well as Orange league will be more than enough for that. Plus you have been sending most of your gym earnings along with whatever you win through random battles here which have piled up for almost one year and formed a small fortune by now. If you own the forest you will be able to grow your forest, grains and some other small ventures like Honey, Flowers, Berries and Silk etc. Using the Tauroses, Kangaskhans and bug types and other pokemons you will be much busy with all those. If it succeeds then you will recover everything within a few months and if we could manage it properly you could become one of the richest persons in Kanto in time. Well give me some time. It will be done."

Ash: "I never thought about money Prof. But if it can be done along with the well being of my pokemons and Mom then why not. I forgot to ask you about the two pokemon I caught yesterday. Did you receive them?"

Oak: "Of course. How could not I. They are from Hoenn region. I don't know how you caught them, but you must understand that both Numel and the shiny Spoink will grow up to become very powerful. I need to study them for a bit longer though. Could I please keep them here for some more time? Afterall it is not regular as a prof. In kanto to research on pokemons from regions other than Kanto especially a larger than average one and a shiny one too." Asked with hopeful eyes to which Ash laughed.

Ash: "Ok. Keep them there and check them for health for me professor. I called you to transfer some pokemon. I want to send Heracross, Pinsir, Venomoth, Ladyba and Ariados. In exchange please send Tyranitar, Mareep, Stantler, both the Dratinis and Sunkern. This will leave me with one open space for any other future addition." With that Ash exchanged his pokemons.

Oak: "I got them. They are safe within their pokeballs. That's all I hope?"

Ash: "Yes, Prof. Oak. That's all for now. I will call you soon. Bye."

With that the call was disconnected. When Ash looked up he realised it was getting dark and he declared the training to be over for all and started cooking. After that they had their dinner and then every pokemon went to sleep. Ash was thinking while trying to fall asleep "When I started the Johto journey I had almost a year in my hand for the Silver conference. It's been two months since then. I have almost ten months in my hand now, but I have to keep at least two months for some extra training before battling it out at Silver conference. So, that leaves me with only eight months. Ample time for me to earn six more badges. With these thoughts he drifted off to sleep and another day in Ash Ketchum's life was over.

- _Scene Change_ -

The next day Ash woke up pretty early. Pikachu and everyone else were still asleep except for Sylvia(Baby Lugia). Mew and MewTwo were wondering somewhere together doing some special training about which they won't inform Ash. So, Ash went for some personal training. He found a small lake and started doing push ups, crunches, shadow boxing along with swords play using a couple of sticks and martial arts training. Sylvia was playing inside the lake. Soon Ash heard Sylvia cry out in pain and was instantly looked for the cause. When he found no one attacking his adoptive daughter he then looked at Lugia and asked "What happened Sylvia? Why are you crying?" To answer him Lugia took her tail outside of water and showed him the reason which caused her pain. Ash almost laughed at the scene. It was a Totodile of all things that had its jaws clamped tightly around Lugia's tail. Ash thought _"This has to be some kind of fate that I end of facing all three starters of Johto despite not starting with any of them. Let's add it to the team."_ So he said "Totodile. Leave Sylvia's tail. I challenge you to a battle. If you win you will apologise to Sylvia and will allow me to capture you. Do you agree?" Totodile jumped on ground and started jumping... more like dancing... happily chanting "To To To to dile" again and again showing its agreement. Then Ash smirked and said "Sylvia. This will be your first battle. It's time to show how much you have trained and gotten stronger since birth. Don't be nervous. I am recording it on pokedex to show all later. So, fight with all your heart. Ok?" The silver legendary cooed happily and faced the Totodile with a dangerous look in her eyes that made the Totodile sweat. Ash immediately recognised it and thought _"Wow. Her PRESSURE ability is already active. This just shows her power despite being a lot weaker than my other legendaries."_

Totodile shook its head and shot a water gun at Lugia which didn't do anything other than making her wet. Ash said "Let him waste his energy Sylvia. Just use a _Light Screen_ and a _Reflect_ to defend against the moves." Lugia nodded and created a couple of transparent screens to help her defend against various attacks by the Totodile. Totodile didn't know it. So, it fired a beam of ice at Lugia, but thanks to the light screen it didn't do much damage. Seeing it fail Totodile fired another water type move. This time much bigger than the water gun which hit Lugia but thanks to the training she received as well as always living underwater the attack didn't phase her much. The Totodile was getting tired. So it materialised some rocks which were hurled at Lugia. Again they didn't do much damage. So, in a desperate attempt it jumped and clamped Lugia's wing in between its jaws doing some damage by the help of the dark-type move and the fading of reflect also helped a bit. Ash had seen enough. Overall he was impressed and thought _"Wow. Being an untrained pokemon it knows a lot of moves. Water gun, Ice beam, Hydro pump, Ancient power and Bite. That's a pretty big move set for a wild pokemon. The hydro pump and ancient power are most likely Egg-moves though."_ This pretty much sealed the deal for Ash and he heard "Sylvia. Your training has paid off well. You took all the hits head on without even budging. Now show the Totodile your offense. Throw him high up the sky by swinging your wing in the air. Then finish it with Iron tail which you have learnt from Pikachu." The silver legendary did as ordered and the dancing Totodile was finally out for count. Ash then hugged Lugia and said "yeah. You showed that nobody can go unscathed after messing with you. That's my baby girl." In return Lugia cooed happily and bit Ash's head making Ash laugh. He then carried the little Totodile in his arms and after returning Sylvia into her pure white pokeball started to go towards his base camp to treat the Totodile.

-Scene Break-

By the time Ash arrived at the camp it was already time for breakfast and every pokemon had finished their morning training exercises. When they saw Ash coming they greeted him in their own language. Ash fed them all with the morning vitamins and recalled everyone except for Sylvia. When the lugia came out she looked at Ash as if asking for the reason to call her out. Ash said to Totodile "Totodile. As per the agreement you have lost the battle. So apologise to Sylvia here. If you want to join my family you will eventually learn respecting others in order to gain their respect. So, better start early. Say sorry." The Totodile was looked at the silver legend and said "To to" to her and immediately the lugia hugged it. Ash then recalled lugia into her pokeball. Ash then looked at the Totodile and asked "Wait here with Pikachu while I get the proper mediaction to treat your wounds. Okay? Pikachu please look after him buddy. Ok?" Pikachu replied with a "Pika" and started playing with Totodile. Ash went through all things in his bag and soon came to them and asked for Totodile to bear with the stinging while applying the super potion. Soon Totodile was back to full health and started dancing again like there is no tomorrow. Ash took out a Lure ball from his ball case and showed Totodile and asked "Are you ready to come along Totodile? If yes then stand there and I will throw this pokeball to capture you." Totodile did as Ash said and Ash threw his pokeball to capture it. Just before the pokeball could hit Totodile though a pebble hit it and the capture was missed. Ash was confused and looked around to search for the origin of the pebble. The answer came in the form of a girl a year or two older than him. She had her hand out in front of her showing that she was indeed the one who threw the pebble.

Ash (Irritated): "Why did you throw the pebble at my pokeball and who are you anyways?"

The girl (Arrogantly): "My name is Tiana. I am a pkemon trainer. I threw the pebble because that Totodile is mine. I have my sights for it for the last two days, but it has been evading me. Now that I have found it I am going to catch it."She threw her pokeball at Totodile but the little crocodile jumped out of the way and swung its tail to send it back. Then it shot a weak water gun at the girl.

Ash (Laughing): "Well I don't know about any such rules which states the ownership of a pokemon belongs to the one who first saw it. I only know the one to capture a pokemon is the actual owner or trainer of a pokemon. I have defeated the Totodile formally in a battle and he hasgiven me permission to capture me. So please leave us alone and find another Totodile."

Tiana (Huffed and angry): "Fine. If you want it so badly I challenge you to a pokemon battle. The winner gets to keep the pokemon. Do you agree?"

Ash: "I generally don't agree to such conditions where pokemon are treated like items. But if it helps to get rid of you I accept the challenge." Ash then looked at Totodile "Don't worry Totodile. As soon as I defeat her I will capture you. No pokemon should go to a trainer if it doesn't like the trainer."

Tiana: "Whatever kid? You have just given up on the pokemon by accepting my challenge. I am a top sixteen candidate of last year's silver conference and before that I have competed twice in Kanto as well. So, don't cry when you lose the bet. This will be a three on three pokemon battle with no substitution. The trainer with more wins will be the winner."

Ash: "We shall see. I am fine with it. I choose Mareep."

 **Battle scene**

Ash threw the pokeball to call his male mareep. The girl threw her ball and came out a brown rat like pokemon. It was a Raticate.

Tiana: "Raticate Quick attack."

Ash: "Mareep thunder wave to paralyse it as soon as it hits you." Soon the Raticate was paralysed.

Tiana: "Raticate Facade." Due to the paralysis Raicate's facade was much more powerful.

Ash: "Protect while using Charge." The facade was blocked by protect. Mareep's wool then fluffed up by the electricity stored by Charge. Tiana growled at Ash and thought _"This kid is beating my raticate with that tiny mareep. Raticate is getting tired. I have to finish it fast"_

Tiana: "Raticate fight through paralysis and Hyper Fang." Raticate charged at mareep with elongated glowing Teeth.

Ash: "Mareep, while it is charging at you unleash all the energy stored with your Thundershock." With that Mareep directed the supercharged light blue colour attack at Raticate.

The result was instantaneous. The Raticate was knocked out mid-run. Tiana was shocked but Ash smiled and congratulated the Mareep who suddenly started glowing and when the light stopped emitting in front of Ash was a Flaaffy. Tiana huffed "Okay kid. The first round is yours. But I have not lost yet. That was my weakest pokemon. Now face one of my strongest ones. Go, Arbok." With that a purple snake like pokemon appeared in front of Ash. Ash recalled his Flaaffy and threw another pokemon. It was his seed pokemon, Sunkern. He wanted to battle for a long time after it learnt every move possible as a sunkern and storing energy for a long time to finally evolve because despite using the sun stone it could not evolve. The reason was the lack of battling experience which would push it to evolve. So Ash had the sun stone with him for that reason.

Tiana: "Arbok. Poison sting."

Ash: "Blast those needles with Razor leaf, Sunkern."

Tiana: "Fire fang Arbok" Arbok slithered towards Sunkern with its fang covered in fire.

Ash: "Reflect followed by Grassy terrain." The fangs of fire crashed into the protective dome nullifying the move. Then the suurounding area wascovered in greenery to show the effect of grassy terrain.

Tiana: "Arbok use poison tail."

Ash knew if the attack hit it might hurt as well as poison Sunkern. He could not use Protect repetitively or it will fail.

Ash: "Flash followed by Grass whistle." The combination immediately blinded the snake pokemon making it miss the target. Then by virtue of glass whistle Arbok fell asleep.

Tiana: "No, Arbok wake up." But thanks to the grassy terrain's effect Arbok was fast asleep.

Ash (The grassy terrain is fading as well as Sunkern's energy): "Sunkern quick charge the solar beam with everything you have and finish the Arbok" Sunkern gathered energy for solar beam using its internal energy as well as the energy from the fading Grassy terrain and soon a golden ball of energy twice the size of sunkern itself materialised on top of the grass-type. With a loud cry he fired the huge solar beam at Arbok causing an explosion. When the surrounding was visible it could be seen that Arbok was unconscious.

With the second victory Ash ran towards Sunkern and hugged it tightly. The Sunkern then looked at Ash with hope filled eyes. Ash understood him and after putting it on ground touched the Sun stone to its head. Nothing happened at first. The sunkern started to lose hope, but suddenly the sun stone was absorbed into him and he started glowing showing that the push it needed to evolve was attained by the last battle. When the light stopped in front of Ash stood a sunflower like pokemon with deep green, broad and thick leaves on its lower body and very big and bright golden petals surrounding its head showing that it was very healthy. Ash immediately scanned his newly evolved pokemon with his pokedex which informed _"Sunflora, the Sun pokemon. It gets its energy from sunlight and its movements follow the rays of the sun. This sunflora is a male. It has the ability Chloropyll and the hidden ability Early Bird is activated upon evolution. Note: Upon evolution the egg move_ _ **Morning Sun**_ _has been unlocked."_ Ash was overjoyed at the drastic change in shape and power Sunflora gained upon evolution. Then he recalled him. Then he looked at Tiana "Looks like I won two out of three and by our agreement I can catch the Totodile.

Tiana who was already irritated by her loss retorted "Not so fast. You cheated there by making me underestimate you. Had I known you were strong I would have used my strongest pokemon against you. Now fight me. Go Ninetails." With that a beautiful ninetails came out and stood out for battle. Ash saw it and knew that it was well taken care of but still it was nothing compared to the two ninetails he had at New Island. He smiled at them.

Tiana: "Not so confident now. She is my strongest pokemon and together we have won plenty of battles. Think you can defeat her."

Ash: "Oh no. I was smiling at some happy memories. Don't worry. I am going to defeat you once and for all. You could have left and I would have forgot this encounter but now you made the mistake of calling me a cheater when the real cheater is you who stopped me from catching the pokemon I wanted and defeated Legally by throwing a stone. So prepare to face one of my strongest recent captures. I have not trained her much but I have a lot of faith in her ability. Go pokeball." With that the pokeball opened up and out came a green coloured rock type behemoth who roared loudly looking at its opponent. Tiana became frightened by the mere presence of the pseudo-legendary from the Johto region. She knew all about their violent tantrum and immediately wished that she should have left when she had time, but gaining some courage ordered "Ninetails. Use will-o-wisp to burn it and follow with a Solar beam."

Ash shook his head and ordered "Tyranitar. I don't want to stretch the battle any more. Quickly use Earthquake full power." As soon as Tyranitar stumped her feet on the ground it shook violently just under Ninetails and the Ninetails was knocked out instantaneously.

Ash: "Now leave me alone and don't bother me anymore." Then he threw the Lure ball and finally caught the Totodile. Tiana on the other hand recalled her pokemon and left the area crestfallen.

Ash sighed in relaxation and soon started packing his camp intending to finally leave the Illex forest after so long. With everything packed and Pikachu perched on his shoulder Ash left Illex forest.

-Scene Change (Golden Rod City pokemon centre)-

It was night time in Golden Rod city. Ash arrived there after travelling for two more days after catching Totodile. Currently he was preparing to sleep after taking a hot water bath in the room of the pokemon centre. Pikachu and mew were asleep by his side. He saw them already fallen asleep and he too sighed and started to close his eyes. Soon the pictures of the last two days' travelling adventures started to appear in his subconscious.

 **[Flashback Begins]**

 _Ash was almost out of Illex forest and could see a bridge that will take him out of the forest. Before proceeding further Ash went into the nearby pokemon centre where he handed over all of his pokemons to the nurse joy. The nurse joy was overjoyed seeing twelve pokeballs in the tray Chancey was carrying and a Pikachu. She exclaimed first "Wow. So many pokeballs. I have only heard from my cousins at Indigo plateau that only elite trainers are allowed to carry this many at once, but you don't look much older. " Then she suspiciously asked Ash "You have permission to carry all these pokemons with you. Right?" Ash replied her after handing her his pokedex "Of course. I swear I am not doing anything illegal. You can check it on my pokedex. Here take it."_

 _Nurse joy inserted it into the computer and heard the mechanical voice "I am dexter. I belong to the pokemon trainer Ash Ketchum from Pallet town in Kanto." Nurse joy then saw the picture of him with Pikachu on his shoulder, on her screen along with the achievements which read "WINNER of the Indigo pokemon conference and Orange league."_

 _Nurse joy was overwhelmed. She never thought of seeing a two time conference winner to be there because generally the successful trainers only treated their pokemons at the pokemon centres in big cities using the private rooms for them, but here was an exception to that. When her eyes fell on the picture, she immediately looked at a taller and more physically fit Ash. She blinked and squealed "Are you the same Ash ketchum who is the youngest trainer to win a pokemon league in the last century, the same year he started out his career as a pokemon trainer at the age of eleven? The same one with the legendary Mew-duo?"_

 _Ash scratched his head sheepishly "Yeah, nurse joy. The same Ash Ketchum and about the mew-duo they are actually in those two purple and pink pokeballs. Could you please look after them along with all my pokemon pretty fast? I don't want to stay at one place for too long." Nurse joy nodded and went inside to check on the pokemons._

 _After some time she came out and handed over the pokeballs and Pikachu to Ash and said happily "Here are your pokeballs Ash. Let me tell you something. With your recent victories you have become a celebrity in all over Kanto, Johto as well as Hoenn. You are regarded as 'The Golden Boy' of Kanto now a days. Though the title is given by your own fan club." Ash groaned and Joy giggled at that. Then she said "If that is the reason you are moving from place to place then you should take to wearing a scarf or mask to hide your facial features. With you out of any contact with the civilisation for some time nobody will be able to recognise you if you hide your face. So, go on and best of luck." Ash thanked Nurse Joy and turned around to leave the pokemon centre but was suddenly tackled by a kid who was carrying an unconscious Growlithe. The kid begged the nurse joy to heal his pokemon. When nurse joy assured him then he relaxed and his eyes fell on Ash. He immediately recognised Ash and said "Oh yes. IT IS YOU, ASH KETCHUM. I thought the day was a bad day, but now I don't regret losing the fight. After meeting a super awesome trainer like you I am very happy. Can I please get an autograph?" Ash smiled happily at the kid and while signing the autograph gathered everything about the incident which led the little fire puppy to faint. By then nurse joy was back with the Growlithe. Ash then asked the kid, Jeremy to take him to the girl named Miki. Soon both of them arrived at the bridge and Ash saw a beautiful girl standing there. She turned around and looked at them "Hello. I hope your Growlithe is okay now?" Then she looked at Ash "You look familiar. Are you a trainer?" Jeremy happily chirped "Oh yeah. He is and he is super strong. I bet he can beat you in the blink of an eye, Miki." Miki looked at Ash and then her eyes fell on the perched up Pikachu. She suddenly had a twinkle in her eyes and said "Oh now I know who you are. You are Ash Ketchum of Kanto. Right? I have seen you battle in Indigo league as well as in Orange league. I am Miki. I am preparing for the Silver Conference and trying to improve the resistance of my pokemon against fire type moves by challenging anyone who has a pokemon that knows fire type moves. I was getting worried that I am not getting very high level of opponents. Thankfully you came in. Now I can test my pokemon against one of those strong Ninetails or Rapidash or Charizard. Come out Skarmory." With that a strong looking and very healthy, almost six feet tall Skarmory materialised. Ash had heard about the steel type many times. So, he was eager to go against one because these types were rare in Kanto. He took out a pokeball "I am sorry Miki. I don't have any of the older pokemon with me right now. So, you won't be able to test yourself against any of those. In compensation I am sending this pokemon I caught early on my journey through Johto. He has trained a lot since then. Come out Cyndaquil." With the cry of "Cynda" Cyndaquil materialised. After training for a long time in the Illex forest, he had mastered to control his fire and now the fire on its back was blazing brightly. Miki was a bit disappointed but prepared to battle. Jeremy agreed to be the referee of the match. He announced "This is a one-on-one pokemon battle between Ash ketchum and Miki. The battle will be over once ane of the two pokemon loses. Battle begin."_

 _ **Cyndaquil vs Skarmory**_

 _Miki: "Skarmory Fly. Then use Drill peck."_

 _Ash: "Cyndaquil Double team to evade it. Then smokescreen to cover your movement." Ash knew Normal type moves unless very powerful won't be able to damage Skamory much thanks to its steel typing. So, he didn't ask Cyndaquil to perform one because of its smaller size and low physical strength._

 _Miki: "Nice try Ash. Skarmory whirlwind to clear the smoke. Then swift all over to destroy the decoys." When everything was done Miki saw a lot of hole in the ground showing Cyndaquil had used dig using the decoys as cover. So she ordered "Skarmory remain in the air and keep a look on the holes."_

 _Ash: "Good job Cyndaquil. Now Flame burst inside the earth." Soon a literal fountain of fire emerged from the ground and caught Skarmory off-guard. Miki was also surprised by the special move and the power behind it to make her Skarmory cry out in pain._

 _Miki: "Use Icy wind to cool those fire columns and block the holes. Use rock slide on the Cyndaquil." Skarmory shrieked and started making chilly wind which covered the holes with ice. Then it formed a lot of stones up in the sky and threw them at Cyndaquil who was pelted multiple times by the super-effective move and cried out in pain._

 _Ash: "Power up the fire on your back to defend against the rock." Cyndaquil halted for a second and charged up its fire to keep the damage to a minimum._

 _Miki: "Use ominous wind, Skarmory."Miki could see the small fire type was giving her Skarmory a tough fight showing it was indeed well trained._

 _Ash: "Use Protect to defend against the move. Then Use sunny day followed by Will-o-wisp." Cyndaquil performed the order to T. The sunlight was much brighter now. Then the ethereal flames of will-o-wisp raced towards Skarmory, who glowed showing the secondary effect of ominous wind taking place increasing all its stats._

 _Miki: "Skarmory. Use protect to defend against Will-o-wisp." She could see both Scarmory and Cyndaquil panting heavily. So, she ordered "Skarmory Use Steel wing full power." Scarmory charged at Cyndaquil with glowing wings. The attack was so fast that Ash couldn't give any command before Skarmory was upon Cyndaquil. Cyndaquil guessed the incoming danger and instinctively started shaking his front legs surrounding the incoming bird in a blue glow and effectively distrcting it from hitting Cyndaquil. Ash scanned the move with the pokedex "Cyndaquil unlocked the egg move Extrasensory. An attack that can make the opponent flinch." As soon as Ash heard the info he turned to congratulate Cyndaquil, but stopped in his tracks when Cyndaquil glowed white and started growing in size. When the light subsided in place of Cyndaquil stood a slim quadruped pokemon, approximately one metre in height with top half of its body blue and lower half cream-coloured. It had five spots that could project flame: two on its forehead and three lined up on its rear. It flared the flames brightly and squealed "Quil lava" loudly standing on its hind legs. Ash scanned the pokemon and the voice replied "Quilava, the Volcano pokemon. Its body is covered with fire-proof fur and can withstand any fire-type attack. This Quilava has the ability_ _ **blaze**_ _. Upon evolution the hidden ability_ _ **Flash fire**_ _has been unlocked. Note: The pokemon has unlocked the egg move_ _ **Flare Blitz**_ _upon evolution."_

 _Ash: "Okay Quilava. Let's finish this." Quilava heard Ash and instinctively turned into a ball. Then he covered himself with fire and charged like a huge ball of fire towards Skarmory. Miki could not do anything because Skarmory flinched thanks to the out of nowhere Extrasensory. Soon Quilava crashed into Skarmory in full glory making it cry out in flame. When the attack was over Skarmory could be seen clearly unconscious on the ground._

 _Jeremy exclaimed "Skarmory is unable to battle. Ash and Quilava win." With that Ash congratulated Quilava and bid farewell to Miki who still could not believe that she lost with a promise to battle another time in the future._

 _\- (Scene Break)-_

 _Then Ash remembered meeting Trixie, a pokemon magician who was having some relationship issues with her Azumarill. Ash's Totodile who was juggling some magikarps inside the lake immediately fell in love with the Azumarill. Then he remembered team rocket trying to steal the pokemons and getting blasted by pikachu's thunderbolt. After that the Azumarill showed her love for Trixie's golduck for which she was having the relationship issue with her trainer. Then Ash helped Totodile to make him understand that he needed to get stronger so that he won't get rejected like that. Then he consoled the Totodile on losing its crush. Then Ash trained it some more to help him forget the woes._

 _\- (Scene Break)-_

 _Then he recalled the adventure he was in while travelling through a small forest before reaching Golden Rod city. There he came in contact with Dr. Wiseman who told him about a smaller than usual but a cleverer Noctowl who he wanted to catch for studies, but the pokemon always outsmarted him. So, Ash called out and asked MewTwo to track the pokemon who impressed a scientist. MewTwo tracked the pokemon and informed Ash that the pokemon was actually using_ Hypnosis _on its victims to make them see what the victims wished to see rather than put them to sleep. For a non-psychic pokemon it was really impressive. Even some psychic types won't get that level of control even with training. So, MewTwo asked Ash to add the pokemon to his arsenal. Hence Ash electrocuted the Normal/Flying type with the help of Pikachu who was protected from the Noctowl's Hypnosis because of the invisible MewTwo. Then he caught the pokemon with a pokeball who was transferred to Prof. Oak's corral. With that Ash continued to cross the forest._

 _Ash was resting his pokemons near a small pond in the jungle when team rocket attacked his pokemon with a robot and caught them with a net, but Scizor tore through the net with his pincers and blasted them again with a well aimed Hyper Beam. Unfotunately the commotion awakened a rather large and grumpy Ursaring who was resting nearby and the pokemon attacked with a Hyper Beam of its own. Ash's pokemons though didn't like it after fighting team rocket. So, when the Ursaring came into the clearing to see who was causing the noise it came face to face with all of Ash's pokemon glaring at it. Seeing so many angry and well trained pokemon angered made him leave his own temper which made it to flee from the sight. Ash relaxed at that because he didn't want to fight an angry pokemon immediately after dealing with Jessie, James and Meowth. Soon, it was getting dark. So, to find shelter when Ash entered into a cave he was surrounded by a group of Ursarings who were lead by the same Ursaring that fled from him in the morning. Ash was very tired. So, when the ursarings attacked him with multiple hyper beams, Ash released all of his pokemon and ordered them to form a huge PROTECT. Then he ordered them to counter-attack with their own moves to make them scatter and flee from there. Soon all but two Ursarings left Ash. Ash recognised them to be the Leader and another ursaring who was injured. So, Ash went near them and started to treat the injured pokemon. Seeing the kind nature of the trainer they had attacked the lead ursaring apologised Ash. From MewTwo Ash came to know that the ursaring were a mating couple. So, Ash caught both of the pokemon and they were transferred to Prof. Oak's corral. After the fiasco Ash rested inside the cave for the night._

 _\- (Scene Break)-_

 _Before reaching Golden-Rod city Ash saw a sign reading "Need Psychic pokemon to protect against Ghost types". So, he counted in his mind "I have Mew, Striker, Sylvia as Psychic pokemon, but I don't want to use them for such a small errand. So, I am left with Quilava with Extrasensory and Tyranitar. Tyranitar might have a better choice being a Dark-type though." With that he threw the heavy ball containing the Pseudo-legendary who came out with a mighty roar. Ash then asked the pokemon to keep an eye for wayward ghost pokemons because of the sign. Soon Tyranitar found a strange pokemon with strange smile protruding from the nearby bush. When they went near it the mouth on the head used bite on Tyranitar. In retaliation Tyranitar covered her hand in dark energy and punched the head using knock off. When the pokemon fainted by the single attack, both trainer and pokemon sweat-dropped. Soon a girl same age as Ash came out of the bushes crying out "Girafarig" and parted the bushes giving Ash full view of the pokemon. It was a hoofed quadruped pokemon with a long neck. Its front half was yellow with black spots and on its head were two horns with bulbous tips. Its rear half was black with yellow spots and it had a head as well that had used Bite on Tyranitar earlier. Ash checked with his pokedex which spoke in a mechanical voice "Girafarig, The long neck pokemon. It has a second head on its tail that bites those who approach it carelessly." Ash helped her dragging out the pokemon out of the bushes and then explained that they thought of the tail as a ghost type pokemon as they had never seen a girafarig before. So the girl understood and introduced herself as Cherry, a pokemon trainer from a nearby town, Blend town. She informed that Blend town was home for a lot of Psychic pokemon trainers. She even informed Ash that her cousin, Will was one of the Kanto elite fours. So, she is also training to be a Psychic pokemon trainer to compete in the Johto league, but without being able to communicate with her Girafarig telepathically she won't be ready completely. She also informed Ash that telepathic communication with Psychic pokemon is considered a feat for Psychics. At that time team rocket attacked again using a Gengar robot that tried to capture the Girafarig. Ash asked Cherry to try the telepathy once more to command Girafarig in the dire situation. With Ash's advice Cherry was able to communicate with girafarig mentally and got to see a vision of the Gengar robot attacking them all with its elongated tongue and warned Ash. Ash thanked her and ordered Tyranitar to get a hold of the tongue. When the tongue was in Tyranitar's grasp, Ash asked to yank it further. Tyranitar did as ordered which caused the Gengar robot to break down freeing the captured Girafarig. Then both Cherry and her pokemon glowed blue while team rocket were desperately trying to do damage control. Ash ordered Tyranitar to use Earthquake under the robot to unbalance team rocket. Then a translucent Psychic energy ball of huge proportion hit the robot blasting team rocket in the process once again. Cherry was overjoyed and thanked Ash for his help to rescue Girafarig as well as for the advice due to which she was able to communicate with her pokemon psychically._

 _At that moment Pikachu was resting inside Ash's backpack came out and perched upon his shoulder causing Cherry to immediately squeal after recognising him and causing Ash to groan. She then informed Ash that she was a huge fan and was following him since indigo pokemon league. She also informed him that he was already a star among the psychic trainers of her locality because of him possessing the legendary mew-duo, who were considered to be the strongest psychic pokemons of both Kanto and Johto after their powerful display in indigo as well as orange leaugue. Ash asked her not to tell anybody about him being in the area to protect his privacy. She agreed on two conditions those being meeting the mew-duo as well challenging Ash's Tyranitar after seeing its power against the huge mechanical gengar. Ash agreed and introduced her to his princess and striker. Cherry was overjoyed and after she heard MewTwo speaking in human tone praised him even more even going as far as saying that he might even be stronger than his cousin Will's pokemons because talking like humans was considered one of the toughest things for a psychic pokemon. Cherry argued that only highly advanced psychic pokemons could do so because of the absurd amount of psychic powers required for it and even Will's pokemon could not achieve such a feat. She even admitted that she was not on a level to challenge MewTwo or mew both of who seemed much stronger than they appeared in orange league and indigo conference. So, Ash agreed to battle her using Tyranitar. Ash informed Cherry to attack as much as possible because against a Normal/Psychic type Girafarig his Rock/Dark type Tyranitar had a lot of type advantage._

 _The battle began with Cherry asking her pokemon to use Double kick against the pseudo-legendary, but Ash asked his pokemon to counter with Mega punch and then to catch Girafarig's legs. He then ordered his pokemon to throw away the girafarig. The girafarig was injured by the small move signifying that Cherry had ignored to train it physically in order to focus solely on its psychic abilities. So, Ash advised cherry to focus on physical fitness as well so as to utilise girafarig's normal typing fully. She also agreed after seeing her pokemon's misery. Then she decided to use signal beam which earned her a minor grunt from the large behemoth. Ash decided to finish it and ordered Tyranitar to finish the girafarig using a rock slide move. Tyranitar followed Ash's order and finished off Girafarig after pelting it again and again with a lot of rocks. Then Ash moved ahead after giving Cherry an autograph and wishing luck for her future endeavours._

 _\- (Scene Break)-_

 _The troubles for our hero didn't end even after he reached at a nearby pokemon centre to heal his pokemon. There he came to know about a pokemon day-care centre who predicted future of a person based on ones pokemon typing based on their birth date. They were also giving away free pokeballs to trainers who left their pokemon with their care for more than fifteen days. Ash immediately knew there was something fishy about the scheme. So, he ordered MewTwo to visit the centre and check their minds to see if they were authentic or not. Meanwhile Ash found a clearing to train his pokemons. When he sensed MewTwo was trying to connect with him telepathically he stopped the training and was furious to learn that it was indeed a scam by Team rocket to steal pokemons from innocent trainers. Then he marched towards the centre in full fury after asking Nurse Joy to inform the nearby police station._

 _When Ash arrived at the day-care, he saw the duplicate day care couple were none other than Butch and Cassidy, two members of team rocket. Cassidy had a Raticate and Butch had a Primeape out of their pokeballs and they were fighting against Jessies's Arbok and Wobbuffet and James who was in an outfit resembling a Moltres. James's Victreebell finished off the Primeape with a vine whip, but all his confidence went into gutter when Cassidy revealed that the fortune-telling book was a part of the scam planned by Team Rocket to gather pokemons from the unassuming trainers. After that the Raticate fired a Shadow Ball at Victreebell who was knocked out without any of James's command and the trio blasted off again due to the explosion. The explosion also caused the curtain to catch fire behind which a lot of pokemon were seen inside cages and they were panicking because of the fire._

 _Ash saw that and he got worried. He went ahead to free all the pokemon and stop the fire but was stopped by Cassidy and Butch blocking his way. Ash was irritated. So, he angrily ordered them to get out of the way so that he could free the pokemon from the imminent danger. Butch and Cassidy laughed at the threat saying a brat like him should not meddle with Team Rocket's affairs. Then Cassidy ordered Raticate to use super fang on Ash. At the same instant the curtain fell on the cages which caught fire making the imprisoned pokemons to cry out in pain. All of this snapped something in Ash. He glowed a deep blue and fired a blue Sphere that hit Raticate and the other two team rocket members causing them all to faint on spot. Then he turned towards the fire and passed through the fire without being affected. Then he looked at Pikachu and immediately they could hear each other in their mind. Pikachu was then surrounded by the same blue aura which was emitting from Ash and with a huge CHUU used an Iron Tail so powerful that the entirety of the cage broke under the power freeing all the pokemons inside them. MewTwo was observing all these from afar. He put the incident in the back of his mind to enquire about that later. Then he teleported Ash and Pikachu to a safe location outside the day-care centre. Ash came out of the trance and his glow vanished as well as the connection between him and Pikachu. Then Ash saw Officer Jenny arriving there and started thanking him for the job well done. Then he informed her about all the Sham and after filing it Officer Jenny arrested the team rocket Duo. After getting assured from her that the pokemons would be returned to their respective owners Ash left the place to finally go on his journey to challenge the Gym in Golden-Rod city._

 _\- (Scene Break)-_

 _With the events over Ash was finally standing on a mountain from where he could see Golden-Rod city. It was the biggest city of Johto. In fact Ash thought Golden-Rod was even bigger than Saffron city in Kanto. It had huge buildings almost touching the clouds in the sky. With the marvellous features attracting him Ash raced towards Golden-Rod, but by the time he reached at the Golden-Rod pokemon centre it was already time for dinner. So, after booking a room in the huge pokemon centre Ash went to the dining area where he and his pokemons had their food. Ash was thankful that due to it being almost night time the centre was almost empty. The few ones who were present there didn't pay him much attention thinking him as another random trainer. He had already asked MewTwo to take Sylvia and mew to his room along with their food._

 _After having his dinner he came to the lobby of the pokemon centre and saw the news reader reporting about the Team Rocket incident and then she reported "It has come to our knowledge that the one two reveal the operation was non-other than the trainer of the legendary Mew-duo as well as the winner of the recently concluded Indigo Conference and Orange league, Ash Ketchum. According to the latest report Ash Ketchum was seen in Azalea town after he foiled one of the team rocket's plans to steal the slowpokes there. Now he sends Team rocket packing once more while preparing to enter this year's Silver conference simultaneously. If this is true then the Silver Conference of this year is definitely going to be an event to watch out for. That's all for now. This is Amelia Jones reporting from Golden-Rod city with the Johto NEWS." With that the report was over._

 _Ash went to his room while thinking "Tomorrow the first thing I am doing is visit the Golden-Rod city Department Store and buy a scarf to wear or else someone is definitely going to recognise me and my privacy will be no more. Honestly thinking I should also leave Pikachu here inside the room so that recognising me would be more difficult with the growth spurt I have gained through the travelling and training I am doing. Man, nobody ever told me that being famous would be such a drag."_

 **[Flashback Ends]**

With the happy thoughts Ash eventually fell into a deep slumber. The only thoughts in his mind were regarding the upcoming battle against the Golden-Rod city gym leader.

CHAPTER END

 **ASH's on hand team(Max capacity 13):**

 _Pikachu, Mew, MewTwo, Lugia-F (Sylvia)_

 _Bayleef, Quilava, Totodile,_

 _Tyranitar, Flaaffy(M), Stantler(Lead),_

 _Dratini (1M, 1F), Sunflora._

 **A/N:** I have deviated from the anime and manga a lot during this chapter. Now on expect these kinds of changes. After all Ash is famous now. So, he will be facing the consequences of being a star as well.

 **A/N 2:** The pictures of some pokemon mentioned could be seen on my profile. Please check those out for further reference.

 **A/N 3:** I have uploaded another chapter. Once again I would like to remind all that "My only aim to post the story is to complete a story which I loved a lot and which has been under Permanent Hiatus. I am definitely going to finish the Johto journeys Arc." The next chapter will be published most probably at the end of November. Till then happy reading.


	4. Chapter 4: Ep 30 - The Golden battle

**A/N:** This is a continuation of the story "Chronicles of the chosen one: Pokemon Master" by Nateman364 . I loved the story so much that after it was put on Permanent Hiatus I decided the story deserves at least a finish of the Johto Journeys. So, I tried to contact the Author but could not get a reply. So I continued the Johto journeys. I want to complete at least the Johto journeys. So, before reading the story read the story by Nateman364. The link to the story is s/8033836/1/COTCHO-PM-Permanent-Hiatus. Then I want to declare that I DO NOT OWN POKEMON BUT THE IDEA FROM HERE ON IS MINE, SOME OF WHICH ARE INFLUENCED BY SOME OF THE STORIES I HAVE READ. So, let's continue with the story.

 **Ep 30** **-** **The Golden battle in Golden-Rod**

The next day Ash woke up at 5 am. After travelling for so long early morning training became a part of his everyday schedule. So, he went to the back of the pokemon centre for training his body. There he released all of his pokemon excluding the legendaries so that they could stretch their bodies. Ash saw that all of his Johto pokemons were more determined after they either watched or heard the details from the witnesses about the battle at Azalea gym. So, he decided that from then on he would make it a routine for his newer pokemons to see the older pokemons battle whenever possible. At seven O'clock, Ash recalled all of his pokemons and went to the pokemon centre video phone stands to call Prof. Oak.

The phone rang and on the other side Tracey picked up the call and said "Hi, Ash. Good to see you. Professor is out in the fields. Do you need to talk with him?"

Ash: "Hey, Tracey. Same here. Yeah, I need to transfer some pokemon. So, would you mind to tell him?" Tracey nodded and after a while Prof. Oak came in front of Ash on the other side of the video.

Oak: "Good morning Ash. Tracey informed that you wanted to transfer some pokemon. Are you in Golden-Rod already?"

Ash: "Yeah, Prof. Oak. I am planning to challenge the Gym today as well as take an appointment for the full battle against the resident gym-leader. So, I would like to send Princess, Striker, Sylvia, Tyranitar, Bayleef, Quilava. After Striker and Princess arrive, please release them. I need to talk to them." Ash put the pokeballs on transporter and after Prof. Oak got them he freed Mewtwo and Mew from their pokeballs. MewTwo and Mew greeted Ash after they found themselves in the Oak ranch.

Ash: "Striker. I have sent both you and Princess because I want both of you have competed in the gyms and I think after analysing the fights you both will be able to continue training as we have discussed. I have to give the others the chance to fight too. So, for now you both are allowed to roam around as well as train by yourselves." After getting nods Ash continued "Now, I would like you to take all my Johto captures including all the Celebis, the lead Houndour along with the ones I just transferred and the ones who are not needed in Prof. Oak's ranch to New Island. Then get me the six pokemon I have told you I am planning to use for the personal battles. Can you do that while I am talking with Prof. Here?" MewTwo and Mew nodded at that. Then they teleported to complete the tasks.

Ash: "Prof. I would like to thank you for all of your support you have given me. You are also helping me with the Ketchum reserves project. Thank you for those, but I want you to help me get a large Screen and Projector to be placed in new island. I would love to have some contact with them without always having to teleport there. Can you please arrange that?"

Oak: "Oh. I am glad you asked for the help. With that I will be able to see them from this far. It will be done."

Ash: "Thanks Prof. This reminds me about the other task I have been thinking about. I need your help with that too."

Oak blinked at that: "What is it, my boy?"

Ash: "For some time I have been planning to install a teleportation panel at New Island for someone other than me to use. I have a lot of pokemon there who train there rigorously. You know very well that with training come injuries. MewTwo has been looking after them for some time, but I have other uses and he has to take those responsibilities. Every pokemon has their own training to do too. So, I want you to have the password for the transportation panel so that you could go there sometimes to check upon my pokemons' well beings. What do you say, Prof.?"

Oak: "Thanks for the opportunity Ash. I always wanted to see the place myself. Now that you have given me the opportunity I am going to use it to the fullest. Besides it will give me a chance to further my research on how pokemons behave in their natural habitats."

Ash: "Excellent Prof. With you there they won't have to eat the pre-made food anymore. Some of them were getting bored with all the cold and frozen items. The panel is not installed. I have had a chat with Sabrina and she has agreed to make one for me. You will get the password when it is installed. Till then ask MewTwo or Mew to teleport you there. Once the panel is installed one of your pokemons will have to be registered with the panel system for tighten up the security. ONLY you will be able to use the transportation panel alongside that pokemon. So, if any pokeomon is injured you can take it back to Pallet for treatment. If Tracey is needed to go to look after the pokemons, he will have to accompany you, because I don't want any trespasser in my Island. The lesser the better. By the way thanks for taking out the load off my shoulders."

Oak: "Not to worry Ash. Your idea of securing from Trespassers is brilliant. I think MewTwo has arrived with Mew and others." Suddenly in a blue glow MewTwo and Mew materialised with six pokeballs floating in the air.

MewTwo: "Everything is done, Ash. Here are the six you requested." He gave them to Prof. who put them in teleporter.

Ash: "Thank you Striker and Prof. I got them. Striker I want you to focus on your physical training at New Island as well as enhance your Psychic abilities further. Help Princess in up her Psychic power so that she could talk with me like you. Next time I want to see those muscles on you bulging and ripping. If needed go to Primeape and Hitmonlee for tips. Princess, you will help the adult Celebis to use Teleport just like you and Striker there. Okay?" When Mew replied with "Ew" Ash replied "Then, you will help every Psychic type like the Spoink from now on." Looking at MewTwo he said "Striker, you will train the little Celebi as promised along with Sylvia. Oh and ask Prof Oak to give you the large Screen and Projector to place in New Island. For the time being we cannot use it frequently because it will eat too much electricity. During the training months I have discussed with you guys we will find a solution to get permanent electricity. Inform all the older pokemons who have already battled to improve in the area they are lacking and tell others to be prepared for I am going to use them eventually. Ask the younger and less trained pokemons to go to the older ones. For example tell the Houndour and Numel to go to the Charizards for tips, Noctowl can go to the pidgeots or any of the three legendary birds, Tyranitar can definitely go to Rhydon for help. So on the list goes. Introduce the Celebis with the other Legendaries. I want all of you to treat each other like a family and help each other. Okay?"

MewTwo: "Understood Ash. Now I would like to leave with Mew for further training as I think we won't be needed for battles until the last gym and if it's needed, we can always teleport to you. It's not like we need to be transported in a pokeball to meet you. Right?" With that they vanished using teleport.

Ash: "Bye, Prof. Oak. See you later."

With that Ash hung up the call. Then he went to have his breakfast as it was already nine. After breakfast was over Ash went to the Department store to buy a scarf to help him in hiding his identity. Ash was strolling through the store after he hid his face using the recently bought scarf. He was thinking about the upcoming gym match and bumped into a woman resulting his scarf to move down showing his face. When Ash realised it he redid it and quickly apologising left the place in a hurry.

Unfortunately the one who Ash bumped into had seen his face during the short incident. She was the famous DJ Mary of radio tower in Golden-Rod city. She was chatting with the reporter Miss Jones, who had reported about Ash the other day when Ash bumped into her. After Ash left she said "If I am not mistaken, then the guy who bumped into me was Ash Ketchum. He is definitely taller, a bit more muscular than before."

She had said it loud enough for the reporter to hear who asked "Are you sure Mary? Because Ash Ketchum has been keeping a very low profile so as to not get tacked. According to recent reports though he is challenging the Johto gyms. If you are sure about it, then our channel will be the first one to have an exclusive interview of the 'Golden Boy of Kanto' himself after the Orange league conclusion."

Mary: "Yeah, I am fully sure. He could have left unnoticed with the scarf he had on, but the z like marks on his cheeks those give him a rugged look were a dead giveaway once the scarf was off for the brief moment. Come on, I am not stupid to take someone else as The Ash Ketchum."

Miss Jones had a twinkle in her eyes as soon as Mary confirmed about the news. She along with her Cameraman raced outside the store in search of Ash, while Mary went to the radio tower to inform all that they might get a chance to see Ash Ketchum battle the Golden-Rod gym-leader.

Ash was running away while Pikachu was inside his coat when he saw the Gym closed with a sign saying the gym-leader was out. Ash sighed and left the place. Ash was in the market when a girl with pink hair saw the Pikachu on his head and squealed about how cute he was. Pikachu responded to her and jumped into her arms. Ash smiled at the praise. Then he asked the girl whether she was a local. When she nodded Ash enquired from her about the gym-leader's whereabouts. The girl curiously said whether he wanted to challenge the gym-leader by chance. Ash nodded in positive. The girl said that she could help him with that and both of them started walking towards the Golden-Rod gym with Pikachu on Ash's shoulder and a clefairy in the girls hands who had introduced herself as Whitney.

When they reached in front of the gym, Whitney opened it using the key asking Ash to go in first, but before she could enter it though Miss Jones arrived there and asked "Hello Whitney. I am here to enquire about if there is going to be a gym match now?"

Whitney: "Yeah, a challenger has appeared. So, the battle is about to begin."

Reporter: "By any chance, does the challenger use a scarf to cover his face and a Pikachu as well?"

Whitney: "Yeah, he has. Why? Is there any problem with that?" She asked finding it odd that someone was enquiring about a challenger who has not defeated her yet. She found it suspicious.

Reporter: "Actually, I am Miss Amelia Jones from channel J. In the morning my crew and I found some interesting fact about the challenger. By the way has he mentioned his name?"

Whitney: "Now that I think of it, he never introduced himself."

Reporter: "If he is the one who we think he is we would like to shoot this gym-battle. Are we allowed?" she almost begged.

Whitney thought _"Although it is not restricted to shoot the gym-battles, almost no one bothers to do so because the battles are not as entertaining as the league battles. So, unless the challenger is someone with some fame she won't have asked me. Anyway it's not prohibited. Plus it will give the gym some free advertisement."_ So she said: "Fine. You can shoot." With that Whitney entered and Miss Jones settled in the stands with her news crew.

Ash was standing on the challengers' side. When Whitney stepped into the Gym-leader's box, Ash said "Whitney? You are the gym-leader her? You never informed me."

Whitney: "At least I told you my name. You didn't even introduce yourself. How rude?" She smirked.

Ash(Rubbing his head sheepishly): "I forgot to mention. I am Ash and I challenge you for the plain badge." Whitney accepted the battle and soon an official pokemon league referee appeared in the centre of the field.

The referee said "This will be a three-on-three pokemon battle for the plain badge between the Golden-Rod city gym-leader Whitney and the challenger.." he paused and looked at Ash "Challenger, state your name." Ash took out his scarf and looked up showing his face to all under the Gym lights and said "Ash ketchum from Pallet town in Kanto." The referee nodded but inwardly recognised him. He then announced "the challenger Ash Ketchum from Kanto. All league rules are in order. Only the challenger may substitute. Trainers, please choose your pokemon."

 _[As soon as Ash unveiled his scarf]_

Miss Jones whooped in joy at that. She thought _"Finally. After this match I will ask him for an interview exclusively for my channel. This might be the breaking news of the day. Thank god Mary informed me."_ With that she ordered her crew to capture every moment from then on which will be aired on television and internet later that day. Nobody protested at that because everyone wanted to see the Ash Ketchum battle.

Whitney on the other hand was surprised more like shocked as well as excited after seeing Ash _"Oh. I never expected to see the young prodigy and the supposed 'Golden Boy of Kanto to be my challenger today. So, this is the trainer who has been on news for quite some time being the trainer of the 'Legendary Mew-duo' and the youngest to conquer a pokemon league. Barely into his second year and he has already has two leagues under his belt. From what Falkner and Bugsy told me he decimated them with ease. So, I am not underestimating him. He is said to be very powerful despite being young. Let's see what you can do Mr. Ketchum?"_ She smirked at the last thought.

With the announcement to choose pokemons both the trainers threw their pokeballs. In front of Whitney appeared the female evolution of Nidoran and in front of Ash stood the recently evolved Mareep, the male Flaaffy. The referee announced "Nidorina vs Flaaffy. Battle begin"

Britney: "Nidorina, _Poison Sting_."

Ash: "Flaaffy use _Thundershock_ to destroy those stings. Then use _Thunder wave_ to paralyse it."

Whitney: "Nidorina, use _Dig_ to dodge. Then attack from underground using _Bite_ "

Ash: "Flaaffy, use _Magnet Rise_ and when it emerges attack with _Iron Tail_." Whitney was surprised at every counter to her attacks. So, when her Nidorina could not bite instead got hit by the Iron tail reducing its defence she felt helpless.

Whitney: "Nidorina, _Horn Attack_ to inflict damage at close range."

Ash: "Flaaffy, charge both your hands and attack it using dual _Thunder punch_." Flaaffy charges both its hands with electricity and when Nidorina neared it used one punch to nullify the Horn attack and punched Nidorina under the jaw using the second thunder punch. As soon as the punch connected Nidorina cried out in pain. When the pain stopped Nidorina was on the floor.

The referee announced "Nidorina is unable to battle. Flaaffy is the winner. Gym leader choose your next pokemon."

Whitney was shocked that her Nidorina was already defeated without hurting the Flaaffy much. She then thought _"So, him having a lot of pokemon of different species is indeed true. Not only that but all of them are also well trained. Okay, let's see if he can fight my next pokemon."_ Then she threw her next pokeball from which emerged her Clefairy.

Ash was thinking "The Golden-Rod gym is said to be of Normal type, but she has used a poison type and now a fairy type. I think it is not important that whether the pokemons are the type the gyms are supposed to be as long as the pokemons know at least one attack of the required type." Then he recalled his flaaffy who was happy at its win and threw another pokeball from which his Sunflora came out.

The referee announced "Clefairy vs Sunflora. Battle begin."

Ash: "Sunflora, this is your first gym battle. Show me how strong you have become. Use Razor leaf." Sunflora happily sent a flurry of leaves at Clefairy with the cry of 'Flora'

Whitney: "Clefairy, use Disarming voice to destroy those leaves. Then use Sing to put it to sleep." A cry of pink particles dispersed the leaves. Then thanks to the sing sunflora fell asleep. "Clefairy, quick while its asleep use Metronome." The metronome was converted to _icy wind_ and pelted the sunflora causing some damage thanks to the ice typing.

Ash: "Sunflora use sleep talk." Sunflora threw a bright orb that intensified the light inside the Gym showing the use of Sunny day.

Whitney: "Use _signal beam_ while it's still asleep, Clefairy." Cleefairy sent a multi-coloured beam which raced towards Sunflora. Before it could hit though, Sunflora woke up.

Ash: "Thanks to that _Early Bird_ ability Sunflora woke up. Now Sunflora _Protect_ to defend against the signal beam and then use _Morning sun_ to regain some energy." The golden dome didn't allow the signal beam to deal any kind of damage to Sunflora and thanks to the Sunny day the Morning sun completely rejuvenated Sunflora.

Whitney: "All that damage goes to gutter now. Sunflora is as healthy as ever and Clefairy is panting. Clefairy use _metronome_ before the Sunflora can attack you." The metronome changed into magical leaf and raced towards Sunflora.

Ash: "Sunflora now use Solar Beam" thanks to the sunny day's effect the solar beam was charged instantly and after piercing through the Magical leaves hit Clefairy making it cry. "Good job Sunflora. Quick before it can counter attack use another Solar Beam to finish it for good."

As soon as Sunflora heard the order it panicked and with a cry of 'Fairy' hid behind Whitney to cause Ash to sweat drop. He ordered "Sunflora, fire the attack upwards so as not to terrify the clefairy anymore." Sunflora followed the order and the solar beam flew up.

The referee announced "As clefairy doesn't want to battle Sunflora wins. Gym leader choose your next pokemon." Whitney was embarrassed at her clefairy's display. She then threw her next pokeball and a cow like pokemon came out.

Ash saw the pokemon and saw some features like it was a bipedal, bovine Pokémon, which looked to be female. Its body is mostly pink, with a yellow belly and black, angular markings along its back. A black hood-like marking surrounds its face with a pink, triangular mark on its forehead. There are two small horns on top of its head. It has large, blue eyes, a black nose, and a wide mouth, as well as long, black, floppy ears with yellow insides. Miltank has a yellow udder with four pink teats. All four of its limbs end in black, cloven hooves, and its long tail is tipped with a black sphere. Ash scanned it with his pokedex which informed in a mechanical voice _"Miltank, the Milk Cow Pokémon. Miltank produces very nutritious_ _milk_ _, a perfect drink for reviving sick Pokémon. Miltank are very even tempered and prefer not to_ _battle_ _."_ Ash thought _"So, this is a pokemon that can produce milk. It would be helpful to have a few of them besides the female Tauruses to help produce some more milk. It will also give some variety. Mom won't mind taking care of them. If I can have some of them, people of pallet won't have to go to Pewter to get some fresh milk. I will catch some if I find them. Now, time for battle."_

Ash recalled his Sunflora and threw another pokeball from which his Totodile emerged dancing happily. Whitney thought _"He changed his pokemon again. That totodile is different than others I have seen."_ The referee announced "Totodile vs Miltank battle begin."

Ash didn't say anything. He thought _"This miltank has to have something that she has chosen it. Let me see it first. Then I will counter."_

Whitney: "Miltank, _Thunderbolt._ "

Ash: "Dodge it using your dance moves." Whitney was gobsmacked at the dancing Totodile _"So the dance is not only for its happiness but also to enhance its dodging"_

Whitney: "Use _Attract_ " Pink colour hearts raced towards Totodile. Ash knew if it hit then totodile would be unable to attack Miltank for a few turns.

Ash: "Totodile use _dig_ to dodge it." Totodile dug a hole and successfully dodged the hearts, but the next move by Whitney surprised Ash.

Whitney: "Now, Miltank Earthquake." Miltank jumped in its place and the ground shook showing the earthquake being used.

Ash (Panicked): "Watch out Totodile, jump out" But it was in vain. Totodile was hit with the attack. Because it was underground the earthquake damaged it badly making it cry. Ash was worried and thoughts like _"Hope Totodile doesn't get knocked out by that. I didn't know Miltank knew earthquake. Whitney has to be credited for the move."_

Whitney: "Miltank use _Thunderbolt_." The attack moved to hit Totodile but before that

Ash: "Totodile use _Protect_ " Thanks to the protect Totodile was saved from the super-effective move. "Totodile use Bite" Totodile bit Miltank causing it to flinch. So Ash ordered "Quick totodile _Ancient power_ " Totodile summoned the rocks and pelted the Miltank using it, but the additional effect didn't activate for Totodile.

Whitney: "It's ok Miltank. It is getting tired. So, _Defence curl_ followed by _Rollout_ " The Miltank tucked its head and appeared like a ball and started rolling towards Totodilr. Soon Totodile was hit with the move and went flying but before it could hit ground Miltank was upon it and started hitting it.

Ash (Thinking): _"Damn. I knew something was up with that Miltank. Whitney was preparing for Rollout all along. With the rollout going I can't damage the pokemon directly. Elemental attacks would be dispersed because Totodile is not at the level of my older pokemon. It can't take any more damage. As soon as the match is over I have to increase his stamina and defence training._ " Then Ash saw the plain floor on the field and an idea formed in his head.

Ash: "Totodile use _Hydro pump_ on the ground to dig trenches in the ground." Even though Totodile was panting with the order, it started drawing trenches on the floor. Whitney was confused at the unusual order but didn't command anything because she knew as long as Miltank is using Rollout it won't take much damage. So, she saw Miltank rolling and Totodile dodging.

Ash: "That's enough Totodile. Now _Ice Fang_ along the trenches." As soon as Totodile followed the order the floor was covered with the ice along the trenches. What followed next baffled Whitney completely. Miltank who was rolling could not change direction in time and skidding on the ice slipped through the trenches with fast pace and when it reached at the end of the trench there was a rock with which it got tackled and flew high into the air effectively taking it out of the rollout. Whitney had only one thought "Ingenious. He strategized so effectively that Miltank is out in the air and open for attack.

Ash: "Quick Totodile _Hydro Pump_ once more" Totodile was panting hard but with a cry fired the water type move on the Miltank making it crash into the gym wall, but it was still conscious.

Whitney: "Miltank, _Milk drink_ to gain some energy." Miltank followed the order and soon was able to stand on its legs. Totodile on the other hand was on its final legs and was worse for wear. Ash saw this and sympathised.

Ash: "Totodile, you have trained hard for the last few days and now I am satisfied with you. You don't have to prove anything else. You can rest now. Fllaffy or Sunflora could finish it. We are family. It is our responsibility to share our burdens. Next time you battle I will strategize more so that you won't fall in this type of situation. Ok?" Unknowingly to him Ash's Eyes were glowing blue showing the Aura he was using. Thanks to it Totodile could feel the emotions behind his words and it burnt a fire inside him. He recalled the time he was in forest all alone creating mischief. Then he encountered Ash who instead of barking at him understood his loneliness and offered him a chance to have a huge family. So, he felt it was time for him to repay Ash. Totodile slowly woke up and looking at Ash nodded as if saying _'I started it and I will be the one to finish it.'_ Then Totodile was engulfed in a blue glow showing the ability **Torrent** being activated which gave Ash some hope again.

Whitney: "Miltank, _Thunderbolt_ once more"

Ash: "Totodile, use _Protect_ and follow up with _Aquajet"_ Soon Totodile erected the protect and then was engulfed in a water shroud which was literally use thanks to the Torrent and shot like a cannon towards Miltank.

Whitney: "Miltank, _Defence curl_." Miltank rolled itself into a ball again, but despite that when the Aqua jet collided with it miltank went tumbling without any control.

Ash: "Finish it Totodile, full power _Hydro pump_." Totodile was eager to finish with a bang, so he fired a humongous hydro pump that pushed Miltank like a train and the rolling ball (Miltank) was embedded into the arena wall and slid with swirls for eyes.

The referee announced "Miltank is unable to battle. Totodile wins. With the gym leader out of usable pokemons the challenger wins the battle."

Ash was overjoyed because even if the gym provided with a very strong challenge his pokemons still came on top. He then went to hug the Totodile who was still glowing with the torrent. He went to him and hugged him "You proved yourself again. The harsh training you were doing finally paid off. I would like to thank you for the win." Ash then hugged totodile. The little croc was watery eyed and soon was engulfed with a shining bright light signifying evolution. Ash was elated at the fact that all of the johto starters were evolved now. When the light died down, in place of Totodile was a for-feet tall, bipedal, crocodian pokemon with a blue and yellow body. It had three clusters of red spikes on its body: three points on head, one on its back and a diamond shaped spike on its tail. Black markings surrounded its eyes. The lower jaw was yellow with a yellow animal skin like pattern on its chest. Ash scanned this new pokemon and was informed _"Croconaw, the Big Jaw pokemon and the evolved form of Totodile. Once it bites down on something, it won't let go until it loses fangs, but new fangs grow back quickly in place of lost ones. This pokemon has unlocked the egg move Dragon Dance upon evolution"_ Ash congratulated the evolved Croconaw who started dancing again. Then he recalled it.

After the match Whitney came to Ash and handed him the plain badge and said "Congratulations Ash for that match and the decisive win despite several setbacks. I am happy that all those talks on TV and magazines were not at all false. It shows your caliber as a trainer and a prodigy after you defeated my well trained Miltank with your Totodile with strategy."

Before Ash could say anymore Miss Jones came down and her crew clicked several pictures of him. Then she put a mic in front of Ash and said "Well Mr. Ketchum that was one of the most strategic battles I have seen till now. What would you like to say about it?"

Ash: "My pokemon fought well against Whitney's. I think they were challenged well."

Miss Jones: "That's such a modest answer from someone like you. Anyways, I was just talking to DJ Mary and she informed me that it's a tradition in Golden-Rod that anyone who defeats Whitney gets an interview on her show, but as you are a two time conference winner, we'll not only air the interview on radio but also show it on TV."

Ash: _"If I don't agree now, she would just pester me again and again. So, let me do it."_ With these thoughts he said "I won't mind giving an interview as long as it is not very long. I have training to do."

Miss Jones: "Of course. What time do you think we can take the interview at Radio Tower?"

Ash: "Before any commitment I would like to have a talk with Whitney here. So, if you could please give me some time with her?" Miss ones nodded and Ash walked towards Whitney so that the reporters won't be able to hear him.

Ash: "Hey, Whitney. It was a nice battle. I loved that challenge you threw using your Miltank. Now that our gym battle is over, I would like to have a full six-on-six battle against your personal team. When will you be free for that?"

Whitney: "Oh, so it was you who battled Bugsy in Azalea that made quite a stir in the upper echelons. That brat Bugsy never mentioned about you. He just said me that I should be prepared to get challenged by someone who would want to have a battle against my personal team. I would love to test my pokemons' abilities against a two time league conqueror. Today I need to gather my team. So, come tomorrow at five and we will go to my Uncle Milton's miltank dairy on the outskirts of Golden-Rod, where my personal team is. There we can have our battle without any outside interference. Is it ok?"

Ash: "No, its fine. I will run some errands and get this interview done during that period. Well then see you." Whitney nodded at that. Ash went to the reporter and confirmed her that he would come at eight in the evening after his training was completed. Then he also went to the Pokemon center to heal his pokemons and to have lunch as it was already noon. Then he planned to take a little nap while thinking about what he learnt from the battle.

After everything was over along with feeding his pokemons, Ash called his mom. The phone rang and after a couple of rings Mrs. Delia Ketchum appeared on the other side of the video phone. When she saw her son on the other side after so long she was overjoyed. She greeted her son and said "Hello Ashy. How are you doing? You are looking good but why did it take so long to call me? I was waiting for my baby to call me for so long, but you were busy I guess."

Ash: "Sorry mom. I was training and catching my new pokemons here in Johto. So, could not call you. By the way, did you get Furret and other pokemons?"

Delia (Squealed): "Oh yeah I did. When prof. Oak came to me with all those cute little pokemons and told me they were to help me pass the alone time I was so happy. That was so thoughtful of you. My baby is growing up." At the 'baby' comment Ash groaned in his mind. "The cute little Furret is so warm to use as a scarf. The mareeps have provided me a lot of wool for sewing. The wigglytuf is already a cutie. The others are doing just fine. I love taking care of them and that little green pokemon prof. Oak introduced is a handful. Prof. Said it's called Celebi, a legendary pokemon. So, I keep them inside. I am not lonely anymore." Then she went into her little dream land but then frowned at something. She then glared at Ash and said "ASH KETCHUM. DO YOU HAVE AN EXPLANATION ABOUT WHY I AM ALWAYS HAVING AT LEAST A COUPLE OF FIRE-DOGS ACCOMPANYING ME? WHETHER I GO FOR GROCERY OR SHOPPING OR GARDENING, THEY ARE ALWAYS FOLLOWING TO PROTECT ME AS LONG AS I AM OUTSIDE OF KETCHUM RESIDENCE? EVEN IF YOU ARE A SUCCESSFUL TRAINER, IS IT ANY WAY TO TREAT YOUR MOTHER?" She stood in her place and bent forward a little and said a little threateningly "WELL MR I AM WAITING."

Ash (Sweated nervously on the other side): "Oh about that mom. You have to understand that I have sent you a lot of rare pokemons, but recently I came upon startling news that there are poachers near pallet. I had a chat with Prof. Oak about it and he confirmed me about the reports. So, I thought to improve security of the Ketchum residence, because even though you have Mimey with you she is not exactly a fighting type. So, I ordered the Houndours to keep an eye for your safety so that you won't have to fear anyone and completely focus on your work. From your explanation I got that they are doing a very good work at their jobs. Sorry mom, but I can't withdraw the security. I love you too much and I would do anything in my power to keep you safe."

Delia (Wiping a tear from her eyes): "Oh my baby is so caring. Then it's fine. I am not that upset now that I know the reason. The dogs are very faithful and easy to handle. Besides whenever I go to market or to Pewter nobody dares to mess with me because of them and it gives a social status as well to have your own security. The other day my friends were over our home and they were gushing about the dogs."

Ash: "Okay mom. I called you to inform that I was in the Golden-Rod departmental store the other day and I bought some latest tools for gardening and sewing for you. Pick them up when delivered. Yes, another thing is that today I am being interviewed by the DJ Mary on Channel J. It will be aired on TV according to them. So, do watch it along with professor. That's it for now. I will call you later."

Delia: "Bye Ash. Pikachu look out for him. Will you?" Pikachu replied "Pika" and nodded. "And Ash don't forget to change your 'you know what'. Bye." With a cry of 'MOM' from Ash the talks were over and Ash went to his room.

 _-Scene Break-_

Ash was inside the Golden-Rod radio tower after finishing his evening training and having completed his afternoon nap. He was welcomed warmly by the channel J representative and soon was sitting in front of J Mary. With that the interview began with Mary beginning the introduction.

Mary: "Hi dear listeners and viewers. I am DJ Mary from Golden-Rod city radio tower. We are here for a special and exclusive interview of a very special guest today. He is one of the most successful and most followed trainers of recent times being the conqueror of the recently finished Indigo league and Orange league. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, we have none other than the trainer of the legendary Mew-duo, the one and only 'The Golden Boy of Kanto' himself." With that the camera zoomed on Ash who waved at it along with Pikachu who was on his shoulder posing.

Mary: "Let's start the interview Mr. Ketchum. As everyone knows that you are from Kanto we don't want to bother you with that. So, please tell the viewers the truth behind the rumours about your participation in the upcoming Johto league Silver conference. If yes, how many badges you have and how are you finding Joho so far?"

Ash: "Please call me Ash, mam. About your query my answer is yeah. I am going to compete in the upcoming silver conference. Including the Golden-Rod gym badge I won today, I have three badges from Johto so far. Johto is very much like Kanto. I don't feel homesick even though it is my first outing to a region other than Kanto."

Mary: "Good to know that. So, now that you have mentioned it should we expect to see the Mew-Duo again in the Johto league?"

Ash: "Don't know about that. I have not thought that far for now. I am concentrating to collect the top eight gym badges of Kanto. I treat all of my pokemon equally and as special as the mew-duo are they are also [art of my family. Whether they will come out or not in the league will be decided when the time comes."

Mary: "That is so sweet of you. You are keeping every viewer and competitor on their toes with that kind of comment. We will not divulge any further into your future plans. With a final question we will end the interview. What would you like to advice to the new trainers or trainer hopefuls?"

Ash: "My advice would be to accompany someone for your first outing. I started like that myself. My friends who helped me a lot in my initial setbacks were always with me when I didn't know what to do as a trainer. Misty and Brock were and still are awesome friends. I would have loved it if they could accompany me in Johto as well, but due to some personal errands they are unable to follow. I hope they will be in Silver town to witness me battle though. I am still learning so I won't tell anything else as long as I am not sure if anything I say will help others or not."

Mary: "Thank you for your valuable time Mr. Ketchum. Hope after the victory here you will continue to win badges so that we will be able to see some good matches in the Silver conference." Then she turned towards the camera and said "That's all from Mr. Ketchum for now. With the official confirmation by him about his participation in the Johto league, I am hundred percent sure that this year's Silver conference is going to be a treat to watch. That's all for now."

Ash was just about to leave the radio tower after thanking DJ Mary and getting thanked by them as well. Suddenly a man came into the interview room and said huffing "The radio tower is being overtaken by the team rocket members. I just saw their leader moving up to meet the Chairman. The tower is surrounded already by the goons. The Police have been informed, but it will take some time for them to come." Mary, Miss Jones and Ash were shocked by the news. Then Ash asked the ladies to stay inside while he left to look into the issue. The network inside the tower was jammed by signal-jammers. So, nobody could call anybody.

Ash went outside and saw a bunch of goons standing on guard at the elevator door that would take to the Chairman's office. When they saw Ash moving towards the lift, one of them said "Hey, stop there boy. We are on guard-duty here. If you want to go inside you have to beat all the twenty of us first. So, beat it and leave."

Ash replied "I would love to see you lot try and stop me." The team rocket grunts laughed and threw their pokeballs releasing a horde of Rattatas and their evolutions, Zubats, koffings, venonats, grimers and a few Ekans. There were more than forty pokemon and with orders of 'tackle/bite/super fang/slam/poison powder/poison sting' they all started to attack Ash. Every worker inside the tower was horrified at the huge number of pokemons used at once and contemplated about how he was going to handle the situation. Ash on the other hand shook his head in anger and ordered "Pikachu Thunder wave to paralyse them. Then charge followed by _Thunder_ on all of them". While Pikachu was fighting the pokemons Ash himself was very angry and his eyes glowed blue showing that he had the mysterious aura activated unknowingly. Thanks to his intense training with his pokemons his physical prowess was top notch even for an eleven year old. He then punched, kicked, low-sweeped, backhanded, elbowed and kneed the attackers to subdue them. After exchanging blows with them he was finally able to subdue them. He was panting a bit after fighting multiple opponents at once he saw Pikachu had already decimated the pokemons without much effort. He ordered Pikachu to electrocute all of them to the point that they would be unconscious. After that he asked the workers to bind them and recall all the pokemons to hand over to the police later.

When Ash on the top floor he saw the team rocket member was not a grunt but a leader wearing sophisticate coat. Then he saw him yanking the chairman holding his collar. He heard him saying something about a kind of wave that would control the pokemon and if he didn't tell them the password of the network emitter and try to stop team rocket in their mission the result would be unpleasant. At that moment Ash had enough and quickly albeit stealthily entering into the room punched the rocket member. When the team rocket member turned around Ash saw him and immediately recognised him as Proton, the same rocket in Azalea town case as well. When commander Proton saw Ash he was furious and angrily said "YOU? What are you doing here again? You have been meddling with team rocket's affairs for quite some time kid. Now I would end it. Sandslash use poison sting on the kid." He ordered throwing out a pokeball from which a stronger Sandslash appeared. It fired poison stings which were then stopped by Pikachu's thunderbolt.

Meanwhile Ash was trying to connect with MewTwo telepathically. Thanks to the unknown aura that was active during the whole incident his mental link was stronger than ever and hence MewTwo immediately came to know about the situation he was in. Proton was furious with Ash. He then threw two more pokeballs from which three strong looking pokemon came out: a Hypno, an Arbok and a Wheezing. He ordered them to attack Ash with Psybeam/Acid/Poison bomb attacks.

Before the attacks could hit though a light blue silhouette materialised in front of Ash and swatted the attacks like nothing back to the pokemons who were knocked out immediately thanks to the added power creating an explosion. When the smoke cleared out the chairman and the team rocket member could see the legendary MewTwo standing in front of Ash protecting him. The legendary feline's eyes were glowing brightly and he was glaring at commander Proton. Seeing the 'R' on his dress MewTwo became madder than before. Seeing the furious Psychic-type Proton tried to flee like before, but could not flee because MewTwo wrapped him with his tail. Then MewTwo said _"You filth. Your little group of goons have created a lot of chaos for the last few years throughout a lot of regions. Now that you attacked my trainer I won't ignore it anymore."_ With that he tightened his hold on Proton using Psychic and fired a blue beam which entered inside Proton's head. Nobody knew what happened but Proton started crying like a beaten child after that. After a few seconds the Commander Proton of team rocket fell unconscious.

Soon the police came and Officer Jenny informed Ash that every grunt has been arrested. She then asked Ash what happened with the unconscious Proton. To that MewTwo informed _"I have put him in a coma like state for a couple of hours and wiped out his memory so that he won't know what happened to him after he entered the Radio tower. I don't want him to know about me anymore than he already knows"._ Officer Jenny nodded and left. Ash soon left to the pokemon centre to treat his pokemons and have a long night's sleep.

[Meanwhile with the viewers of the interview]

Ash's mother and Prof. Oak were watching the interview and Delia was so happy that her son was on TV. Prof Oak was having some tea and commenting on something about how Ash was being modest and with his comments was not giving away a lot about his future plans. Then suddenly they saw about the news how the radio tower in Golden-Rod was being overtaken by team rocket. They were shocked and became worried. Delia asked the Prof. To contact someone, but thanks to the jammers in the radio tower no contact over phone could be established. They waited till late night and when they saw some scenes of Ash fighting the goons to free the hostages and helping the local law officials they were relaxed. Prof. Oak was proud of Ash. Delia on the other hand was frantically speaking about how she was going to have chat with her only son about the live threatening fights he was involved with.

In Orange Islands and in Pewter city Misty and Brock were watching the interviews and telling everyone that they knew the supposed 'Golden Boy' personally and good friends with. After the interview was over they were about to go to sleep but when they saw about the team rocket fiasco on TV they too tries to contact Ash, but the calls were not possible. So, they watched news closely. When the news showed the scenes of Ash rescuing the radio tower from the team rocket they relaxed and not wanting to disturb Ash so late at night went to sleep deciding to call our hero the next day.

-Scene Break-

Ash woke up a bit later than usual because of the exhaustion. Then after training himself, his pokemons as well as feeding he went for a morning stroll towards north of Golden-Rod for sight-seeing. There he saw a clearing and threw the pokeballs he had so that his pokemons could come out and relax a bit for the upcoming battle that afternoon with Whitney.

Ash was relaxing under a tree, but when he heard some people coming he stood up and began to find the source. Soon he saw two people in white coats coming towards him and they were debating loudly about something. The man and woman saw Ash looking at them oddly and introduced themselves as pokemon scientists. The man was Pierre and the woman was Merry. Ash came to know about the reason they were quarrelling. It was regarding the typing of Sudowoodo whether it was rock type or grass type, because one Sudowoodo was blocking the only way to Ecruteak city in the north. The other way was under repair and hence people were facing a lot of problems while travelling from Golden-Rod to Ecruteak.

Ash was fed up with their petty arguments and with them went north where they found the trouble-maker sudowoodo. As soon as it saw Ash it attacked with some vines. Ash saw the pokemon which looked like the bark of a tree but when he saw the vine whip he felt something was off. When he saw closely he found out that the Sudowoodo was holding vines from trees not original vines from its body. Ash decided that enough was enough with the farce and called out his Croconaw and asked him to fire a Hydro pump at the Sudowoodo. The attack hit so fast that the Sudowoodo could not dodge and cried out painfully. Ash saw his chance and asked Totodile to perform Iron tail. Totodile bashed the Sudowoodo in the head using its glowing tail. The attack caused the Sudowoodo to faint and Ash threw a pokeball to catch it.

After that he scanned the pokeball and the mechanical voice of pokedex informed him, Pierre and Merry _"Sudowoodo, the imitation pokemon. It's the evolved form of Bonsly. Although it camouflages itself as a tree, its body is more like a rock than like a plant. It hates water and disappears whenever it rains."_

When the data were confirmed Pierre whooped in joy saying "I knew it" again and again while Merry was crying at being wrong. Ash said "It is clear as a day that Sudowoodo is a rock-type. That's why it was knocked out so quickly by Croconaw because both of his attacks were super-effective against it." With that he thought _"This one will be a nice gift for Brock and being primarily a Rock-type trainer he will be happy. Besides he was sulking all along about how I was making partiality by giving Misty a Pokemon while he got nothing. This will effectively shut him up"._ Ash effectively left the place after solving the issue and after the pokeball vanished to Oak Ranch. He had already informed the pokemons he wanted to use for the match about the match and they were eager to show their strength after hearing the tough challenges from the pokemons who battled in Azalea gym as well as the ones who were watching it. With that Ash left the place intending to have lunch at the pokemon centre and relax for a bit to concentrate for the upcoming battle against Whitney. He started slowly to move towards Golden-Rod pokemon centre.

Chapter End

 **A/N:** Ash's on hand pokemon

Pikachu, Croconaw, Male Flaaffy,

Dratini (1M,1F), Stantler and six older pokemon.

 **A/N 2:** I have modified some more incidents according to my liking. I am going to do so in the future as well. See you after the next chapter Till then happy reading.

 **A/N 3:** There might be one more update before new year. Till then enjoy it.


	5. Chapter 5: Ep 31 - Before moving

**A/N:** This is a continuation of the story "Chronicles of the chosen one: Pokemon Master" by Nateman364 . I loved the story so much that after it was put on Permanent Hiatus I decided the story deserves at least a finish of the Johto Journeys. So, I tried to contact the Author but could not get a reply. So I continued the Johto journeys. I want to complete at least the Johto journeys. So, before reading the story read the story by Nateman364. The link to the story is s/8033836/1/COTCHO-PM-Permanent-Hiatus. Then I want to declare that I DO NOT OWN POKEMON BUT THE IDEA FROM HERE ON IS MINE, SOME OF WHICH ARE INFLUENCED BY SOME OF THE STORIES I HAVE READ. So, let's continue with the story.

 **Ep 31** **–** **Final stop at Golden-Rod**

Ash woke up at four o clock in the afternoon. He thought he had some time to waste before his appointed time to meet Whitney. So, he went to the Golden-Rod departmental store once again to buy some outfit to suit his growing body which had grown in height and width and muscle mass thanks to the intense training he was doing with his pokemons. Besides his outfit which his mother had sewn for him was looking like a rag and after the fight with team rocket the day before were torn even more making them unsuitable to wear anymore.

When Ash arrived in a fashion store, he took out his scarf and regretted doing so when the store owner squealed after recognising him as the hero of the Radio Tower. After some convincing though ( _More like a couple of selfies, some autographs and promising her to buy four sets of uniform as her choice_ ) , she promised not to inform anyone about his new wardrobe. Then the lady asked Ash to try several dresses. After half an hour and approx. twelve different dresses Ash finally decided his favourites.

For the summer and warmer days as well as during training he chose a Blue leather jacket over a tightly fit black vest showing his chest muscles, loose black pants with pointy boots ( _A/N_ : _Somewhat like Future Trunks in DragonBall Z)_ as well as a pair of sports shoes along with a headband to protect his forehead as well as to keep his messy hair in place and a strap on his back over the jacket to hold his metal pole ( _for future fights. He was sure with any luck he would definitely come across more trouble. So better prepare now than worry later)._ Then for colder days, he had a high collared flowing deep maroon trench coat ( _Somewhat like the fourth Hokage from Naruto but with a less high collar_ ) with MewTwo and Mew's pictures designed like a Yin-yang pattern. The bottom of the half sleeved coat had prints like pikachu's tail. The front was open but had buttons to tighten if it's cold. Then he bought a face mask ( _same colour as the blue jacket_ ) that covered his face below the nose till neck. He also had a stylish Golden-glassed sunglass (More like a goggle with rectangular curved glasses) to give him a complete makeover. As it was hot outside Ash packed his overcoat and pointy boot inside his backpack. After paying for his buying's he put on his sports shoes and opened the front buttons of the blue jacket to let it flow. With his impressive height of more than five feet for eleven years old, he was making a lot of teenage girls in town to stop and look at him at least once. Ash headed towards the Golden-Rod gym.

Inside the Golden-Rod pokemon gym Whitney was waiting for Ash to arrive because it was five o' clock already. She was thinking _"I can't believe I am going to fight a full battle against the trainer who is rumoured to have defeated Lorelei of the elite four. That was more than six months ago. God knows how much he would have improved now. This will be an opportunity though. For an eleven year old he definitely has some prodigious skills with some seriously strong pokemons. I have seen him fight in orange league and his mew-duo were stronger than they were in the indigo league. I am so excited."_

She was already outside the gym on her scooter to pick Ash up for their tour to her uncle Milton's dairy thinking when she saw a guy in blue jacket coming towards her. She perked up at him and thought " _Hmm. This guy is so hot and he is coming towards me. Had I not promised to Ash I would have asked him for a battle for sure."_ The guy came near her and asked "I hope I am not very late. Right Whitney?" Misty came out of her stupor and asked with a blushing face "Sorry mister, but I think you are mistaken and how do you know my name anyway?" Ash looked at Whitney and thought "May be due the glasses and mask she is unable to recognise me?" So he took out his eyeglasses and lowered his face mask and said "Hey Whitney. It's me, Ash. You promised to battle me yesterday. Remember?"

When Whitney saw Ash's toned and muscular chest through the tight-fitted Vest and his face she had her eyes widened. His pole strapped over his flowing coat gave him a badass look that she was thinking _"What the hell? He was looking good before, but with this kind of dress he is looking like a super hunk. Had he been a few years older I would have asked him out immediately. Damn, these powerful trainers. Bruno, Will, Lance and now this Ash Ketchum, you name any elite trainer and they have something that immediately makes you to fall for them."_ Then she thought " _Stop thinking like a despo, Whitney. It's time for battle not to get distracted."_ Then she greeted Ash and both of them went to the dairy.

\- [At the Milton's Miltank dairy]-

Ash and Whitney walked into the dairy. It was already half past five. Reaching inside Ash saw a big and fat man wearing an overcoat who Whitney greeted confirming Ash that the man was the owner of the dairy, Milton. Ash greeted him and with Whitney the trio went for a tour of the dairy as Ash had some time before the battle. He saw a lot of Miltanks being sucked of their milk using some kind of suction machine which was not painful like manual milking. Ash immediately asked Milton the address of the equipment store. Milton and Whitney looked at him and asked for what he needed them.

Ash: "I have some female Taurus back in Kanto and we generally use Taurus milk there instead of the Miltank milk here. My mom takes care of them. We milk them manually which sometimes become painful. So, I was thinking about buying some to lessen the pain and time it takes to milk all of them". Milton and Whitney were surprised to hear that.

Milton: "Ah. Yes, I have heard about the Taurus milk in Kanto. That is good nota s good as Miltank milk but definitely good. I am happy you think the welfare of your pokemon but the equipments are custom-made and will take at least six months to be delivered directly to Kanto." Ash's face fell and he sighed sadly at that.

Milton: "Don't be sad Ash. I have around ten spare suction pumps like these already pre-ordered. I could give some to you, but due to the steep price I have to pay for the miltank breeding this year I won't be able to buy anymore if I will need any replacement for some reason."

Ash: "Anything you say will be done if I can get the tools and please explain this breeding thing in details."

Milton: "Ok. You know that Miltanks are primarily females. In order to give birth to new miltanks we usually use artificial insemination using male Taurus samples. This year though due to some disease a lot of Taurus died and the farms which have healthy ones are demanding almost ten times the money per insemination than the last year. When all the dairy owners complained to the owners about it, they responded by saying if we want the material for the breeding, then we have to pay the price. We can't do that because the investment would practically ruin us."

Ash: "Why don't you catch a bunch of wild Taurus then? It will save you a lot of money."

Milton: "That would have been great, but the thing is the wild Taurus are not trained and well taken care of. So, the breeding using them has a high rate of failure. Besides even if the procedure is successful the Miltanks we will get from that kind of breeding will be far inferior in quality than what we would get from a Taurus sample. Meaning the quality and quantity of milk produced by those Miltanks will be lesser than the artificially breeded ones." Then he muttered "Only if we could get some well trained male Taurus" Ash heard that and asked.

Ash: "What is that well trained male Taurus you muttered about?"

Milton (Sighed): "Well, if I could get a couple of well trained Taurus then they could be used for the insemination process."

Ash: "If that is the case, then I have some well trained male Taurus back in Kanto. I can ask a vet to collect the samples and send them here. Let me call someone." Milton and Whitney were a lot hopeful hearing Ash having some Taurus. Then they saw Ash using some watch like device on his hand and soon a person in a lab coat appeared on the other side.

Ash: "Hello Prof. Oak. How are you doing?"

Oak: "Ash? I am doing fine. Is there something you need? I was outside feeding the pokemon actually."

Ash: "Sorry Prof. Oak, but it is kind of an emergency. So, could you please ask Tracey to feed them while we talk"? Prof. Oak agreed and looked at Ash and heard everything from Milton and Ash. Then he called someone who knew about breeding using his mobile and replied with a sad face.

Oak: "That idea is excellent Ash. I appreciate your effort to help Milton there, but the thing is the semen samples which is needed for the artificial insemination become useless after twenty four hour of retrieval from a Taurus's body and it will take at least ten days to transport from Pallet to Golden-Rod. So it is not possible"

Milton, Whitney and Ash became sad after hearing that. Suddenly Ashgot a wicked idea in his head which will get him some Miltanks as well as help Milton in the Miltank breeding. So, he asked.

Ash: "Hey Professor? If you send some of my Taurus here to Milton's dairy, then would it help in anyway?" Everyone looked at Ash and then smiled at him. Milton hugged him in thanks.

Oak: "Yes, Ash. It will solve everything. In that case Milton won't have to expense anything at all for the artificial insemination, because everything will be natural. This will be helpful for the happiness of all pokemons involved too. So, it is an excellent win-win idea."

Meanwhile Whitney was describing to Milton "Uncle. Do you know who he is?" When Milton shook his head in negative she replied "He is Ash Ketchum. He is a genius at pokemon training and battling. He is the winner of two pokemon leagues. He is rumoured to have a lot of strong pokemons. So, if he says he has some Taurus then those will be very well trained and definitely better than any Taurus a farm can provide you. So, convince him to provide us the Taurus for our needs." Milton knew the significance of a Taurus and he knew very well that 'If a farmed Taurus is better than the wild ones, then a well trained and groomed Taurus are far superior than the farmed ones.' Then he decided to convince Ash anyway possible evn if he would have to beg then he would do it happily.

Milton: "I will give you anything if you agree Ash. This will save me a lot of money which could be used to grow the Miltanks to better the productivity further."

Ash: "So can you give me the milk pumps then?'

Milton (Enthusiastic): "Suction pumps are nothing. If you agree with what you said I would give you them free of cost. I am ready to pay double if you agree with the natural breeding procedure." Ash thought about it for some time and soon got a solution.

Ash: "I am willing to help you Milton, but I have some conditions."

Milton: "Don't worry. Name what you want. I will give you anything"

Ash: "I need those Milk pumps and five Miltanks. In return I will send you six of my male Taurus free of cost. After the breeding is over you have to send them back to Prof. Oak though. Do you agree?"

Milton: "I am very happy at the offer. It is very generous of you to provide me with them free of cost, but I think it will be cheating if you won't want anything else. So, let's have a fair deal. I will give you five miltanks. I will give you five pumps too and you can get more at fifty percent of original price whenever you want. I will also give you a special DAIRY CARD for an exclusive twenty percent discount on any dairy product you order from my farm as long as I get the Taurus for breeding my Miltanks."

Prof. Oak who was still on the video call heard the offer and said Ash to accept it.

Ash: "Fine Milton. I agree, but I have a battle to fight now. So, you can go ahead and finalise the details with Prof. Oak. If he is ok then we both can have our share from the deal as soon as the paperwork is done. This is the number of Prof. Oak" He provided the number of Oak. "Please send the DAIRY CARD to my mother DELIA KETCHUM in Pallet as well." With that both shook hands and Milton pocketed the phone number.

Soon, Ash and Whitney were in a field surrounded in boundaries at the backside of the Dairy to begin their battle. It was decided that the official match would be refereed by Milton who used to be a league referee during his younger days. Besides Whitney was kind of forgetful and hence forgot to inform the gym referee in Golden-Rod to accompany them.

-Scene Break ( **BATTLE SCENE** )-

Ash and Whitney were standing in the middle of the field. Whitney told "The video footage of this official six-on-six battle will be stored in your trainer profile whether you win or lose. Unlike the standard Gym battle for the gym badges those will be available for public eyes only the higher pokemon league officials, I and of course you will be able to see this match and any other future battles like this. You are informed about this? Right?" Ash said "Yes, Bugsy has told me about the rules." Whitney shook Ash's hands and said "Well of course he would have. Then let the battle begin." Ash nodded and threw the pokeballs which he won't need in this battle and from those Croconaw, Male Flaaffy, Dratini (1M,1F), Stantler and Sunflora came out. Ash informed them "You are the new members of my family. So, I want you all to watch this match and learn how to fight high level opponents. I know you have been informed about this kind of battle by the witnesses of the last match. So, stand in the side lines and watch. Pikachu will be with you this time." Pikachu pouted. So Ash said "Don't make faces now. You have fought in the last match. So, let the others to have a chance Pi. For now look after the new ones in the sidelines. Can you do that for me?" Pikachu nodded and went to stand in the sidelines along with the others.

"This is an official Six-on-Six pokemon battle between the Golden-Rod city Gym leader Bugsy and challenger Ash Ketchum from Pallet town in Kanto. All league rules are in order. Both trainers are allowed to use six pokemon each for battle. The challenger is allowed to substitute only ONCE during the ongoing battle. If substituted more than once then the trainer will be disqualified. Moves like Baton pass, U-turn are allowed. If a trainer loses three pokemon, then there will be a fifteen minute break. Now trainers choose your first pokemon."

Both trainers shouted "Go Pokeball."

In front of Ash stood a cream furred cat like pokemon who was eager to fight in a high level battle and it made a sound 'meow' to show its eagerness. This was the clone Meowth who had battled against its evolution in the indigo league and had defeated it.

In front of Whitney stood a bulky, bipedal Pokémon similar to a beaver. Brown fur covers most of this Pokémon with a tan circle on its chest. Its face was covered by a tan mask with a rounded extension over each eye. It had an additional extension to the side of each eye showing it was a male. While its forepaws were small and slightly webbed, its hind paws were larger and more rounded. Both sets of paws were black with three toes, but the hind paws had circular, tan paw pads. It's large, flat tail was black with a tan, wavy marking near the tip. Rounded tufts of fur line each side of its face. Its short, dark brown snout had a small red nose and protruding upper incisors. Ash could not recognise the pokemon and scanned it with his pokedex which informed " _Bibarel, the Beaver Pokémon. It dams up rivers to make a nest and is well known as a hard worker. It is the evolved form of Bidoof. Note: This pokemon is a registered pokemon from the Sinnoh region_ " Ash thought _"So this is not a native pokemon of Kanto/Johto. That's why I could not recognise it. A Normal/Water type is a typing against which I never have battled. Let' see what it can do."_

The referee announced "Battle between Meowth vs Bibarel BEGIN."

 **[Meowth vs Bibarel]**

As soon as the announcement was made both trainers made their first moves.

Whitney: "Bibarel, Water Gun"

Ash: "Meowth, _Fake out_ " Meowth attacked using the priority move which caused the Bibarel to flinch and hence, the Water gun was stopped.

Whitney: " Bibarel use _Aqua tail_." Soon Bibarel's tail was covered in water and it tried to hit Meowth with the move, but the Meowth was so agile that it twirled its body around the tail and was behind Bibarel within a moment.

Ash: "Meowth, point blank _Screech_ quick." Meowth let out an ear-splitting cry that made Bibarel wince and cover its ears and become very wary so that its defence dropped sharply. Ash took befit of that and ordered "Quick Meowth, while it's still in pain use _Hone claws_ followed by _Slash_ attack." Meowth didn't miss a bit. Soon it sharpened its nail using the Hone claws and increased the accuracy more. Then with glowing claws it slashed vigorously on Bibarel's back. Thanks to the critical hit of Slash as well as the power boost by Hone-claws Bibarel lost a lot of fur on its back and at some places the thick skin was cut making blood to ooze out.

Whitney (Damn, it's not been a lot of time into a battle and he has already drawn first blood): "Bibarel don't panic. Turn around and yawn." Bibarel immediately rotated its head and sent the sleeping cloud at Meowth who couldn't dodge it in time and felt drowsy. Ash knew he had to do something before is pokemon went to sleep.

Ash: "Meowth quickly use Nasty plot before falling asleep." Meowth thought of revenge as dark thoughts and its special attack increased sharply. Then it fell asleep. Whitney knew she had to do something while Meowth is fast asleep.

Whitney: "Bibarel, now is our chance. Quickly use Super power to deal some serious damage." Bibarel nodded and using its higher physical prowess attacked Meowth making it wince in pain even when it was asleep. The attack did some damage which bruised Meowth on some places on its body. Ash knew he had to act quickly to remove Meowth from the clutch of Bibarel.

Ash: "Meowth. I know you are asleep, but you have to listen to my words. Please use Snore on his face." Ash pleaded desperately. Immediately nothing happened but soon Meowth snored and thanks to the nasty plot it was quite powerful forcing Bibarel to leave it when the snore hit it on its face.

Whitney: "Bibarel !" cried out in concern. She thought _"Damn, what a trainer. Even his sleeping pokemons are listening to his orders."_ The followed with "Listen Bibarel, don't let the Meowth to wake again. Use Ice beam followed by super power once more." The brown beaver followed the order and soon Meowth was covered in ice. Then it was hit powerfully by another super power waking it up, but simultaneously making it feel the pain by the bruises even more after it gained consciousness.

Ash ( _Thank god Meowth woke up_ ): "Ok Meowth. It's time to show what you are made up of. Use dig followed by Seed bomb point blank" Thanks to its superior speed Meowth dug up the hole immediately and emerged in front of Bibarel with the grass-type move in its paws hitting it squarely on the face making it cry out loudly. Whitney was gob smacked at the speed of the small Meowth.

Whitney: "Don't worry Bibarel. Use Scald on the ground and follow up with Rollout." Bibarel sprayed hot steaming water on the ground stopping Meowth effectively and then after tucking its body like a ball smashed with the Meowth flinging it into the air, but thanks to the intense training the small cat twirled itself in the air. Ash took the moment to plan his next move.

Ash: "Meowth, quick Double team into Iron tail on the ground" Meowth although tired formed a lot of copies of itself and with glowing tails all the cats smashed the ground creating a miniature shaking of the ground which didn't damage the bibarel but stopped it in its tracks making it come out of the rollout. Ash took it as his chance and ordered "When it's dazed after prematurely coming out of rollout, use Shock wave to deal some damage." The electric type move hit Bibarel without amiss and thanks to the water on the ground and the nasty plot used before by Meowth did a lot of damage. When the attack was over Bibarel was seen panting and charred. Meowth along with all the copies were also panting heavily.

Whitney: "Bibarel destroy the copies with Swift." Ash ordered to use a quick _Protect_ to save Meowth but the stars of the swift still hit the copies destroying them. Before Meowth could help itself after releasing the protect whitney ordered "Bibarel, use Scald again while the Meowth is still recovering." Bibarel listened to its trainer and fired steaming jet of water at Meowth which hit Meowth this time bringing out a cry of 'Meow' from the creamy cat pokemon. The real damage was not the hot water bath though. It came when the secondary effect of scald took place and Meowth's back was burned making it very difficult for the cat to stand in its place, but the meowth stood and glared at the Bibarel for that nasty move. Ash knew his Meowth s on his last legs. So, he waited for Whitney's next move giving some time for Meowth to relax.

Whitney: "Bibarel, now is our chance. While it is trying to stand up, use Giga Impact. FULL POWER" She knew Bibarel's condition was deteriorating thanks to the initial blood loss. So, she decided to use everything Bibarel had in one final move. Ash knew Whitney was getting desperate when he heard the order he gave and saw the Bibarel attack with a purple energy shroud around it.

Ash: "Meowth. Use Nasty plot once more and wait for my order. Then skid under the attack when you hear it." Soon Bibarel was upon Meowth and when it was just a couple of feet from Meowth Ash loudly ordered "NOW. When it passes over you fire a point blank Shock wave from behind with all you have got."

Whitney was slack-jawed at that risky command. She was even shocked at the belief Meowth had in Ash when he followed it without thinking twice. The result was a comparatively safe Meowth and a Bibarel who was now a sitting psyduck thanks to the recharge time of the highly powerful STAB move Giga Impact. Meowth took that moment to hit it with a huge electric current which was powered up with two nasty plots. The super-effective move electrocuted Bibarel and when the attack was over there was a completely blackened Bibarel with swirls for eyes showing it was unconscious.

The referee announced "Bibarel is unable to battle. Meowth is the winner. Gym-leader please choose your next pokeball. Whitney recalled her Bibarel and grabbed another pokeball to send next.

After the announcement Meowth cried out a loud 'MEOW' and started to glow white showing the undergoing evolution. When the light died down everyone could see a large, quadruped feline pokemon with a pale tanned fur with black rimmed ears standing in place of Meowth. It had a short muzzle with black nose, red split eyes and three whiskers on each side of its face. In centre of its forehead was a red jewel replacing the previous coin like structure on its head. It had a distinctive curl in its tail. Ash immediately scanned the pokemon with his pokedex to see what it said about it. The pokedex informed _"Persian, the classy cat pokemon and the evolved form of Meowth. Persian can walk silently thanks to its nimble muscles and pounce on its prey at lightning speed. This Persian has the ability Limber and a secondary ability Technician which is unlocked. Note: upon evolution the egg moves Hpnosis and Foul play has been unlocked. Note2: This pokemon has learnt Power gem and Play rough upon evolution."_

Ash compared his Persian with the one shown in the picture and thought "My Persian is a bit leaner and longer showing that it will now move even faster than when it was Meowth. The cockiness it is exhibiting even while standing still shows that all his training has paid off making it very strong even when it has just evolved." Then he raced at Persian and hugged him tightly after grabbing it with his both hands which earned him a 'Pers' from the cat. Then he said "Congratulations Persian. Now that you evolved we can up your training further. I am also happy for you because you finally settled your grudge against your evolved form after you defeated it during indigo league and decided to evolve yourself. There cannot be a better time than now when we are on our way for the Johto league. The battle was fierce and you deserve a nice long rest." Then he recalled his pokemon into his pokeball. Then he took out another pokeball from his belt.

Whitney saw Ash calling his newly evolved Persian back into the pokeball and thought _"So, he is still using the same unpredictability of changing his pokemon every time. I have seen him using it since Indigo league. He is going to be a tough opponent depending on which pokemon he chooses."_ Then both she and Ash threw their pokeballs with cries of "Pokeball Go". When the energy beams materialised fully in front of Whitney stood a pokemon which Ash had a chance to encounter on his way. It was the same Normal/Psychic type Girafarig he had encountered. Though this was looking a lot stronger than the one his Tyranitar had battled showing this was well-trained. In front of Ash a small bird pokemon materialised and stood on the ground instead of flying in the air. It was his female Spearow.

"Girafarig vs Spearow. Battle begin."The referee announced after seeing both pokemon giving each other a fierce look.

 **[** **Girafarig vs Spearow** **]**

Ash: "It's your first major battle spearow. I think you are ready to fight against a strong opponent to gauge yourself. Are you ready?" Spearow replied with a high pitched 'rowwwwww' and Ash further commanded "Then let's test the waters. Use _Agility_ to increase your speed and move around to confuse the Girafarig." With an aggressive flip of wings the 'Tiny bird' pokemon vanished and moved around the Girafarig showing its speed thanks to the rigorous training it had undergone in the new island.

Whitney was shocked at the super fast avian pokemon. Then she ordered "Use future sight Girafarig. Then use Trick room" The Girafarig glowed white signifying the future sight had been activated. Then a three dimensional translucent room made up of psychic energy encased both Girafarig and spearow. If it had been a year before Ash would have been an ass and won't know what Trick room was, but thanks to the continuous study on pokemon behaviour and attacks from different regions he came to know about a lot of moves which were from foreign regions. He was thanking MewTwo for all the research done as well as Prof. Oak whose timely upgrade of his pokedex was a huge boon in gathering data about different pokemon. So, he knew the effect of trick room and he was right to see the effect when inside the room his Spearow became slower than the Girafarig.

Whitney: "Now cutie. Use Charge Beam on the pokemon." Soon the electric move hit Spearow and because of the Trick room Ash could not do anything that would either prevent or redirect the supper-effective move. The move also increased the special attack of Girafarig due to the extra effect. "Use Charge beam once more"

Ash: "Spearow, quickly use _steel wing_ and dig it into ground to take the next charge beam." Thanks to the timely intervention the electric move didn't do much damage and was grounded but not before providing the secondary effect of increasing the special attack of Girafarig once more. Ash didn't expect that though. Now he had to be more careful and patiently waited for the Trick room to fade out.

Whitney (Smirked at herself for the ingenious move): "Now run towards it and use Double Hit." As soon as Girafarig heard the order it jumped up towards Spearow and using its hooves mercilessly hit spearow twice further injuring its back and bringing it lower towards the ground.

Ash: _"Damn. I have to do something otherwise Spearow would get damaged even more"_ As he was thinking this the Trick room faded making the semi-transparent room to vanish. Ash smiled at that and ordered "Quick spearow use _Fly_ and then attack with _Tri-attack_ " Spearow moved up into the sky and from there attacked Girafarig with the triple elemental move which earned a cry from the Girafarig showing the power behind the move. Ash didn't stop at that and before Girafarig could breah a bit from the fire/ice/electric combo ordered "Now Spearow use Air cutter and follow it with Aerial Ace" although Spearow was panting it flapped its wings and from them two crescent shaped wind current came out. The attacks sped towards Girafarig and before the Girafarig could dodge hit it with so powerfully that some of the furs on its back were cut out cleanly showing bare skin. Before the girafarig could squeak in surprise the Spearow pierced the air and crashed into Girafarig on its back using Aerial ace. The move was indeed very powerful which caused the quadruped pokemon's legs tremble under the pressure.

Whitney was getting worried but the reprieve came in the form of Future sight which hit the unaware Spearow causing it to crash into the ground. Ash cursed mentally for being inattentive regarding the future sight. Whitney took advantage of the slight distraction and ordered "Quickly cutie. Use Psybeam and follow up with Zen Headbutt." The attacks hit Spearow squarely and Spearow could not even stand once it hit the ground after getting hit by the STAB psychic type moves.

Ash got worried for the first time since the match started but still tried to remain stone faced so that Whitney won't know what was going inside his mind. He desperately wanted to do something which unknowingly activated his aura powers again and the empathetic link between him and spearow became stronger and the spearow could feel all the love and emotions that Ash was feeling and suddenly she found some newfound energy within herself. With a 'Spea row ro wow' she stood up and flapped its wings speedily.

Ash became happy seeing that and said "You have not given up till now. Thank you for that. Now I also won't give up. Let's show what you can do. Use _Air cutter_ now" The attack raced towards Girafarig but Whitney commanded "Girafarig use Amnesia and take that hit." Girafarig followed the command and glowed white showing the increase in its special defence. The air cutter hit it but didn't do much damage.

Whitney: "Quick Girafarig use Charge beam once more"

Ash: "I knew something that was coming. Now spearow use _Agility_ into _Steel wing_ " Whitney was confused at such an unusual command. She realised its true implication when Spearow charged through the electric move and thanks to the Steel wing the electric move was split in two and Spearow hit Girafarig harshly earning a cry from it. Spearow went past Girafarig and returned from its rear side and hit Girafarig again with the Steel wing.

Whitney was thinking of doing something seeing the damage caused by the back to back steel wing and suddenly an idea hit her and she ordered "Use _Crunch_ to hold it Girafarig and then toss it in front of you then use Psybeam" As soon as Girafarig heard the command the mouth on its tail opened up and caught Spearow who attacked using Steel wing. The girafarig took damage from the steel wing but still didn't lose its hold and then with amazing fluidity threw spearow in front of it. Then its horns glowed and from those a multi coloured beam raced towards Spearow.

Ash: "Spearow control yourself and then use _Protect_ to defend against the _Psybeam_." Thanks to Ash's timely intervention spearow was able to flap its wing and quickly erected the golden dome which took the Psybeam. Ash knew his spearow was holding against the much stronger and higher level Girafarig by shear will power alone. So when the STAB Psybeam move which was further enhanced by the charge beams earlier pierced the Protect and hit spearow Ash was not surprised. He was relieved though because the move had lost a large portion of its power trying to break the protect and hence spearow was not immediately knocked out. Ash unknowingly let out a 'phew' at the good luck. Then he strengthened his will power which spearow received thanks to the aura link between them and let out a large squawk. It glared angrily at the Girafarig showing the signature attitude of its kind towards foes.

Whitney: "Quickly Girafarig. Use _Trick room_ " and smirked. The Girafarig nodded and the invisible walls surrounded the two pokemons. As knew the implication of the move. Before the room could be completely formed he ordered.

Ash: " _Agility_ into _Drill peck_ " Spearow sped towards Girafarig and with drilling beak attacked the Girafarig in between its horns before the Trick room could show its effect and the girafarig cried out in pain.

Whitney and Ash could see that both the pokemons were on their last legs and hence decided what to do. Whitney ordered "Girafarig Use Psybeam" Before the move could hit though Ash commanded "Spearow use _Protect_ and then _Roost_ to regain some energy" Spearow sat on the ground covered inside the golden dome and closed its eyes. The timely command helped spearow gain some energy. Although the fatigue of the battle didn't diminish it still helped the Protect to survive against the psychic beam. After the move was over Girafarig fell on its knees showing the pressure the move was on its energy reserves. Spearow was somewhat faring better after the Roost was successful and Ash was a bit more hopeful.

The happiness didn't remain for long though because before Ash could command anything else the Future Sight move which was initiated earlier hit it in its back. Being a powerful Psychic move it dealt quite a lot of damage and spearow was back on ground. Ash didn't lose hope though. He smirked at that. He said to Whitney "It was a nice battle. Your Girafarig showed its battle prowess and that it is at a much higher than my spearow. Both the pokemons are on their last legs. So, I am ending it here." Before Whitney could order the Girafarig to be on guard Ash ordered "Spearow use your secret move. Use _Assurance_ at full power" Spearow nodded and with a huge dark energy surrounded body crashed straight into Girafarig creating a loud BOOM and emitting dust cloud. Whitney cried out a loud "Girafarig" in concern after the attack hit.

Everybody closed their eyes and ears to avoid that. Soon it became silent again and everyone opened their eyes. They could see the super-effective dark type move had done its job. Because spearow was hit inside the trick room earlier by future sight the Assurance was much stronger than usual and the psychic type Girafarig was knocked out on sprawled legs on the ground. The referee saw this.

Then he looked at the spearow on the ground that had its eyes closed. So he thought may be the high power attack knocked it as well and announced "Girafrig is unable to battle. Spearow seems to be unable to battle as well..."

Before he could declare something else spearow stirred in its place. After getting confirmed about the Girafarig's defeat it stood in its place and stretched its wings widely and squawked a loud 'SPEAROWWWWWWWW'. The referee, Whitney and pokemons standing on sidelines were watching the spearow glow white. Ash on the other hand said "Another one. I expected you to have evolved a long ago, but you didn't. Now I know you were waiting for the extra push all along and the fight provided that".

The light soon died down and a strong looking Fearow flew up in the air in an instant showing the speed it gained upon evolution. Ash could see that the trsining it was put through by his older Ferow and pidgeots definitely paid off after evolution. The fearow had a wing span of more than seven feet that was quite larger than the standard ones. Ash thought " _She will be the perfect mate for my Fearow now"_ Ash scanned his pokemon with his pokedex and the mechanical voice informed _"Fearow the 'Beak pokemon'. It has the stamina to fly all day on its broad wings"_ Ash thought " _Oh! She can definitely fly for a lot longer than that now that she has evolved"_ The pokedex continued " _This Fearow is a female. It has the ability_ Keen eye. _It has unlocked the secondary ability_ Sniper _upon evolution. Note: The egg move_ Sky attack _has now been unlocked. Note: Upon evolution the pokemon has learnt the new move_ Drill Run _"_ Ash thought _"Oh! She also has the two abilities. I think Prof. Oak was right about his theory for developing secondary ability though_ " He then thought about the discussion he had with the professor when the professor theorised after studying his pokemon that _"The stronger pokemons have TWO abilities, but the ones who train a lot alongside them can also develop more than one ability either sometime later or after evolution_ "

The referee declared "Ahemm. As Girafarig is unable to battle Fearow is the winner. Gym leader please choose your next pokemon". Whitney recalled her pokemon. Ash called his newly evolved Fearow into its pokeball as well after thanking and congratulating it. Whitney shook her head at that and thought _"He is definitely stronger than anyone else I have battles especially for an eleven year old kid. Another one of his pokemons evolved after the battle. Still I have never seen a spearow that strong before. Usually those pokemons faint after maximum three to five attacks but that spearow prevailed throughout the battle and defeated my Girafarig which was clearly at a much higher level than the spearow. Well let's see how you do against this one"_

Whitney threw her third pokeball of the match and from it a quadruped, feline Pokémon with a mostly tan body materialised. It had a pointed, whisker-like protrusion on each cheek. Its purple ears had three tufts of fur at the tips, and there was a purple ruff-like collar with pin-like extensions around its neck. It had slim legs with tiny, digit less paws. It also possessed a purple, flower-like tuft of hair on the end of its thin tail. Unable to recognise the pokemon again Ash thought " _Another foreign pokemon I guess. Damn I need to step up my studying on pokemon species even more. What kind of pokemon master will I become if I cannot even recognise a pokemon even if it is a foreign one without using the pokedex"_ With the kind of thoughts he scanned the pokemon and received the information " _Delcatty, the Prim Pokémon and the_ _evolved form of Skitty_ _. Delcatty lives its life at its own pace, happy most of the time and rarely_ _confronting_ _other Pokémon. Even when disturbed, Delcatty will move to another spot rather than fight."_ Ash further enquired and received _"This Normal-type pokemon is registered as a native pokemon of Hoenn region"_ Ash thought _"So, this pokemon is from Hoenn region. Whitney sure has some variety in her party"_ Then he threw his own pokeball and from it came another big avian pokemon. This was a pokemon he had not used since indigo league. This was his cloned Pidgeot and the mate of his natural born Pidgeot. Whitney was surprised at that and thought _"He sure has some serious kind of variety. This pidgeot is the same one he used in indigo league. I cannot forget the black markings on it and some others as well. So far Ash has used a Normal and two normal/Flying type pokemons. He is matching me type wise and although I am a normal type specialist he has shown his mastery on his pokemons till now. I have never seen someone having mastery over different type pokemons like this Ash Ketchum. He truly is a prodigy"_

"Delcatty vs Pidgeot. Battle begin." The referee announced. Delcatty and Pidgeot emitted 'Nyaa' and 'geottt' respectively and waited for commands after hearing the referee announce the battle.

 **[** **Delcatty vs Pidgeot** **]**

Ash knew his female pidgeot was the sturdier one between his two pidgeots. While his male pidgeot was faster and stronger than its female counterpart, his female pidgeot's defensive stats had become higher than what they were before after training for so long in the new island. So he waited for Whitney to make the first move.

Whitney: "Delcatty dear, use Attract on the pidgeot" small heart shapes emerged from Delcatty's mouth and hit Pidgeot on its face, but they didn't make the pidgeot fall for delcatty which confused Whitney. Seeing the look on her face Ash said "Pidgeot is a female Whitney. That's why the move didn't do anything. It means your Delcatty is a female as well." Whitney 'Ahhed' and further ordered "Delcatty please use Assist." Delcatty glowed white for a second and soon an electric move was thrown at Pidgeot who dodged it by getting out of its way on time. Ash realised the move to be Charge beam which was confirmed when Delcatty glowed again after the move was performed showing the increase in its special attack stats.

Ash: "Use _Agility_ and then follow up with _Aerial Ace_ pidgeot" The big bird vanished from its place and before anyone became aware of its movement hit Delcatty squarely on its side. Then it flew up in the sky and flew too fast for the Delcatty to keep a track of its positioning"

Whitney: "Use Swift at that pidgeot" After hearing the order Delcatty fired the unavoidable stars towards Pidgeot.

Ash: "Use _Double Team_ pidgeot. Then as soon as the attack is over use _Wing Attack_ " As soon as words left Ash's mouth the stadium became filled with a lot of pidgeots who took the swift and quickly vanished leaving the original unharmed. Then the original pidgeot came in front of Delcatty and hit it with its both wings which sent the delcatty back towards Whitney. Whitney growled at the nasty slaps.

Whitney: "Calm down Delcatty. Use Work up followed by Zen headbutt" After glowing blue for a bit the Delcatty surrounded itself with pink coloured psychic energy and raced towards Pidgeot.

Ash: "Counter with your work up and follow up with Brave Bird" Pidgeot glowed blue as well and flew up high in the air. Then with a loud 'geottt' it was enveloped in blue flames and a huge inferno shot towards the Zen headbutt.

As soon as the two moves crashed into each other a loud boom was heard as well as a yellow blast radius. When the light and heat decreased Delcatty could be seen flat on its side near Delcatty again, but the distinctive thing was the long mark on the ground which showed that the collision course had made the cat pokemon to skid all the way. Pidgeot on the other hand was relatively unharmed showing its impressive defence. Only the tightening of its beak due to the electric surge caused by the recoil damage signified that it had taken at least some damage from the collision course.

Whitney: _"That Pidgeot is way stronger than the spearow. My poor delcatty suffered a lot of damage by that skid on the ground_ " she thought. Then ordered "Delcatty use Assist again" The Delcatty stood up slowly and fired a multicoloured beam at Pidgeot. The pidgeot who was still recovering from the recoil was unprepared for the sudden Psybeam and could not dodge in time. The psybeam hit the bird pokemon and caused it to cry out. After the attack was over Pidgeot was seen on the ground on its feet dancing on alternate legs showing its confusion due to the Psybeam. Whitney wanted to deal some more damage.

Whitney: "Use Assist once more" This time Delcatty stood still on its legs and after glowing for a while came up rejuvenated showing this time the Assist produced Roost. Although the Assist didn't do much damage still the regained energy made Whitney happy. She saw the still confused Pidgeot on the ground and hence ordered "Quick cutie, use Sing and follow up with dream eater" The delcatty followed the order and soon the sweet song made the pidgeot to fall asleep. As soon as Pidgeot was asleep an ethereal copy of Delcatty materialised which started sucking the energy out of the fallen pidgeot.

Ash: "Come on pidgeot wake up. I know you can feel me. Just respond to my voice."

Whitney: "Delcatty use Wild charge on it". The Delcatty surrounded itself with electricity signifying the starting of Wild charge. Thanks to the previous work up the Wild charge was more powerful and when it hit, Pidgeot was electrocuted terribly. Despite being asleep the bird pokemon convoluted showing the power behind the Electric move. Still the move was unable to finish off Pidgeot. Ash was calling desperately and thanks to that the empathetic link between him and his pidgeot became stronger which caused the large avian pokemon to open its eyes suddenly causing Whitney to curse. Ash relaxed after seeing his pokemon finally waking up.

Ash: "Good job till now Pidgeot. Your defences have increased a lot for which you were able to withstand all those attacks and still were able to get up. Now let's show them your power. Use Mirror move" Now it was Pidgeot's time for revenge. She performed the Wild charge which was more powerful than usual thanks to the previous work up and hit Delcatty causing it to cry.

Whitney: "Use swift again Delcatty dear"

Ash: "Quick Pidgeot use Hurricane to throw away those stars." Pidgeot flapped its wings at an accelerated pace which caused two tornadoes to materialise in front of it. The most powerful flying type STAB move not only swatted away the swiftly moving stars but also sucked Delcatty inside one of the tornado. Whitney could not do anything as long as Delcatty was inside the tornado. So, she waited for the hurricane to subside, but Ash had other plans. Ash ordered "This is our chance to end the match Pidgeot. Use Air Slash into the hurricane. Then use everything you have left to fire a Hyper beam inside the Hurricane.

The crescent shaped air current rotated around the hurricane slashing Delcatty at regular intervals causing it to cry out loudly. Then Pidgeot fired a huge golden beam of energy inside the Hurricane from above it. The Powerful normal type move made the Hurricane to glow brightly and when it touched the base a huge blast occurred which caused a small mushroom cloud of at least fifty feet. Every pokemon and person present to watch the battle closed their eyes and ears due to the loud noise and bright light. When everything was over and dust settled down after a while a charred Delcatty with swirly eyes could be seen lying inside a small crater caused by the blast. Pidgeot was still flying albeit at a much lower altitude and panting harshly howing that it had used everything it had in the move.

The referee announced "Delcatty is unable to battle. Pidgeot is the winner. As the gym-leader has lost three pokemon there will be a fifteen minute break for the trainers to relax and change in field." With that Whitney recalled her fallen Delcatty and Ash recalled his Pidgeot after hugging it for a marvellous win. Then he saw the pokemons standing on the sidelines and went to sit on the bench on his side to relax for a while and to plan for the next three battles.

 **[Pokemon POV-Pokespeech activated]**

Croconaw, Flaaffy, the two Dratinis, Stantler and Sunflora were standing on the sidelines. They had never seen such high level battles in their lives. So, the moment they saw Meowth battling against a powerful Bibarel they wanted to whoop in joy especially the two dratinis who were still in their baby forms. It was thanks to Pikachu that they didn't cause any sound. It became tougher for Pikachu to control them after Spearow defeated the Girafarig and Croconaw, Flaaffy and sunflora wanted to cheer loudly, but with the leadership skills of the Stantler was able to still hold them off. The final straw came when Pidgeot defeated Delcatty after creating that huge explosion using paowerful moves like Hurricane and Hyper Beam. This time when the referee announced Pidgeot the winner and Ash smiled at them after the wonderful battles even the Stantler whooped in joy making loud noise. Pikachu shook his head and when the cheering stopped fired a low power Thundershock gaining their attention.

When they all looked at Pikachu he said _"Okay. Half time. I am going to Ash. You guys can now talk about whatever you wanted to discuss."_ After that Pikachu went to Ash and jumped onto his lap to getting petted.

As soon as Pikachu left all the new pokemons let out a relaxing sigh. Croconaw said _"Thank Arceus Pikachu left. Now I can say whatever I want to say about the battle. Throughout the battle he stopped us from doing anything but observe and learn from the battles."_

The Flaaffy replied _"Thank him though. If it were I then I would have definitely electrocuted you"_ Croconaw pouted at that comment and stopped dancing.

The male dratini said _"Well anyways. The battles were something else. I have sparred against Meowth, Spearow or Fearow now and Pidgeot before, but I never knew they could perform such powerful moves though. Guess they have been holding back"_

The Stantler said in a masculine voice _"Yes, definitely. I have been the herd-leader for a while, but no wild pokemon I have ever faced could ever hold a candle to the power these pokemons are able to show off. All the six pokemon till now are either fully normal types or mixed normal type pokemons. For a long time I was thinking that I am one of the most powerful Normal types out there, but after seeing these normal type powerhouses I must say there are a lot of pokemon who are way too powerful than me. I am happy though, because now I will have a fully normal type Persian to spar against when in the new island."_

The female dratini said _"This was the first time I am seeing a full battle. Ash had shown me some battle videos when I was training, but seeing a battle so close is a completely unique experience. The emotion, the power the sounds are all overwhelming. Both meowth and spearow evolved today and both look way too powerful in their evolved forms. Now I just want to evolve as soon as possible so that Ash would put me in a battle soon."_

The male dratini said _"Keep dreaming. Dad would put me first in a battle after I evolve into a Dragonair before you. Then I would spar against all those battle monsters back in new island"_

The stantler said "Stop your petty banters. Let me tell you one thing. If you keep getting distracted like that during the next three battles then none of you are going to get past the level of Dratini. So, stop this non-sense now and focus on the next three battles"

Croconaw said _"Yes, I need to focus more. I saw meowth, spearow and lady pidgeot battling today and from what I have learnt till now as Ash's pokemon I realised I need to train harder in my pre-evolved form to get maximum result in my fully evolved form. So, I will train super hard alongside Bayleef and Quilava from now on and I will evolve only when I deem myself ready"_ He had a fire in his eyes while he was saying it and all the pokemons nodded at those inspiring comments. The moment was ruined though when he added in the same enthusiasm _"Then I will challenge all the other water types and defeat them"_ Everybody sweatdropped at the last comments.

At that moment Flaaffy said " _Well. Looks like the break is almost over and Pikachu is coming our way. Now let's see who are coming next"_

Pikachu heard that and commented _"Look guys and Kiddos. I heard what you were saying Flaaffy. I am very happy that you are trying to learn something from the next matches. I have some very important news regarding the next three matches. If you want to learn how to fight against powerful pokemons then watch out for the next three pokemons Pikapi... I mean Ash is going to use"_ Everyone had the same look in their eyes as if asking ' _What is so important about the next three battles'_

Pikachu replied _"I understood what you all want to ask. For that I would like to say that the three pokemons used by both trainers are not the strongest for either of the trainers, but the second round is different. Trust me guys because I have seen and participated in a lot of battles like this. From what I know in the last three fights of a standard six-on-six battle usually the three strongest pokemons of a trainer participate. If my guess is right then watch the three last fights carefully. Especially the last one because if my intuition is right then the last two fights of this six-on-six will be matches you will remember for quite some time"_

Stantler being the most mature asked _"Why? Is there someone very powerful going to battle today? Are the pokemons some of the oldest in Ash's team?"_

Pikachu replied _"Bingo. The last two battlers fighting for Ash are probably the strongest Normal-types Ash has till date. Both of them are physically way more powerful than anyone of their kind I have ever seen and I have seen a lot of pokemon till now."_

The female Dratini asked in a trembling voice _"You are not saying about those two. Are you?"_ Pikachu nodded vigorously giving off a wicked smile.

The male Dratini became very excited and said " _Yeh ye ye. Finally the day has come. I have always wanted to see those two battle. After hearing it from you Pikachu I am focusing completely on these next matches."_

The Sunflora asked _"Who are battling today in the last two to make these kiddos to be focused and become silent?"_

Pikachu uttered just two words which made all the pokemons enthusiastic for the next battle. The words were _"Though Ash has not named them, but among the pokemons they are nicknamed Stampede and Jumbo"_

After hearing the two names everyone became silent because those two were two of the big battlers and they had a reputation of being too destructive in their battle styles. So, everyone waited with baited breaths for the next three battles.

 **[POKESPEECH DEACTIVATED** and **CHAPTER END]**

 **A/N: This is the last update for the year 2016. Next update will be in 2017. So, please tell if you like it or not.** I have modifies some events in this chapter as well like making thetalk between Ash and Milton at the Dairy.

 **A/N 2:** I have made the move Assist different. In a single battle the move will select a move used by two pokemons before it. The two pokemons could be from one each from each trainer or both from the same trainer of the pokemon using Assist.

 **A/N 3:** Stampede and Jumbo are to battle next. To know more please wait for the next update. That's all for now.


	6. Chapter 6: Moving Ahead

**A/N:** This is a continuation of the story "Chronicles of the chosen one: Pokemon Master" by Nateman364 . I loved the story so much that after it was put on Permanent Hiatus I decided the story deserves at least a finish of the Johto Journeys. So, I tried to contact the Author but could not get a reply. So I continued the Johto journeys. I want to complete at least the Johto journeys. So, before reading the story read the story by Nateman364. The link to the story is s/8033836/1/COTCHO-PM-Permanent-Hiatus. Then I want to declare that I DO NOT OWN POKEMON BUT THE IDEA FROM HERE ON IS MINE, SOME OF WHICH ARE INFLUENCED BY SOME OF THE STORIES I HAVE READ. So, let's continue with the story.

 **Ep 32** **-** **Moving ahead of Golden-Rod**

After the fifteen minutes break Ash and Whitney both were standing at the opposite sides of the battlefield once again. The field was repaired as much as possible and soon the referee also arrived. The referee then announced "Time is up. Trainers please choose your pokemons. The gym-leader was the first to choose pokemon in the first half. So, Challenger please choose your pokemon first this time" Ash threw his pokeball and a brown kangaroo-like pokemon with a baby inside its belly-pouch materialised from it. Whitney was surprised seeing the pokemon because it was one of the rare female-only normal type pokemons. This was the only Kangaskhan other than the Lead Kangaskhan that wanted to fight. Ash had instructed and trained her as one of the versatile Normal type pokemons. The pokemon looked at Ash and gave a cry 'Kang kanga kangaskhan' and waited for its opponent to come out.

After getting over her surprise Whitney threw her pokeball and soon a very big rotund pokemon materialised from it. It was a dark pink, rotund Pokémon with a small tail and a long tongue. It had a yellow line pattern on its belly and a white bib-like pattern, making it almost resemble a round baby boy. It also had what appeared to be a curled appendage on its head. Ash scanned it with his pokedex and got informed "Lickilicky, the Licking Pokémon and the evolved form of Lickitung. Lickilicky can wrap its enormous tongue around anything. Getting too close to this Pokémon will result in a saliva shower."

The referee announced "Kangaskhan vs Lickilicky. Battle begin"

 **[** **Kangaskhan vs Lickilicky** **]**

Whitney: "Lickilicky, Use _Wrap_ on it. Then use _Wring out_ to throw the kangaskhan away"

Ash: "Not so fast. Kangaskhan use _Fake out_ " Being a priority move Kangaskhan hit Lickilicky very fast, but when it tried to move away from the Lickilicky it wrapped its long and thick tongue around Kangaskhan and squeezed very tightly. Ash was confused because the Fake out didn't make the Lickilicky flinch from attacking. So, he asked Whitney "Whitney. Is your Lickilicky's ability _Own Tempo_?"

Whitney: "Right Ash. She has the _Own Tempo_ ability which allows her to never flinch during a battle." The she looked at Lickilicky and said "Now Lickilicky dear, use _Wring out_ on the Kangaskhan" The pink pokemon used its tongue to powerfully throw the Kangaskhan away. As Kangaskhan had not taken any prior damage it was at full HP and hence when she skidded along the ground by the Wring out she cried out in pain showing the move had done quite some damage.

Ash: "Get up Kangaskhan. Use _Tail whip_ on it and then use _Comet punch_ " Kangaskhan used its tail and lashed it on Lickilicky's leg making the huge rotund pokemon to fall down and lowering its defence. Then with glowing white fists Kangaskhan punched Lickilicky thrice and sent it back to Whitney.

Whitney: "Nice Ash. But we are not out yet." Then she looked at her Lickilicky and said "Quickly use _Belly drum_ Lickilicky" Ash knew about the move and so asked "Go Kangaskhan. Use _Mega punch_ " The move connected and damaged the Lickilicky further which had already lost half of its HP after using the Belly drum. Whitney took the advantage of Kangaskhan's closeness to Lickilicky and ordered "Quick Lickilicky dear. Use _Wrap_ on it and use _Body slam_ on it" This time the moves were much more powerful than before because of Lickilicky's attack stats being at maximum. Kangaskhan cried out painfully after getting body slammed by such a heavy pokemon and was paralysed.

Both Ash and Whitney could see both pokemons were panting. Ash then ordered "Kangaskhan. Use _Safeguard_ and follow up with _Outrage_ " Despite the paralysis Kangaskhan surrounded itself in a green light showing the use of Safeguard. Then her eyes became red and she attacked Lickilicky. When the powerful dragon type move was used three times continuously Lickilicky couldn't do anything other than taking the damage. After the attack was over Kangaskhan regained its focus because thanks to the Safeguard the confusing effect of Outrage didn't take place.

Whitney: "No, Lickilicky."She could not believe one of her strongest pokemons was getting hurt. She could see the pokemon didn't have a lot to offer. So ordered "Use _power whip_ on the Kangaskhan" Using its long tongue Lickilicky performed the powerful grass type move which caused the Kangaskhan to cry out in pain.

Ash: "Before Lickilicky retrieves the tongue use _Crunch_ to hold it tightly. Then Use _Drain punch_ on it" The dark type move which was followed by the energy draining super-effective Fighting type move caused the Lickilicky to cry out loudly in pain. Due to losing its energy by the Drain punch Lickilicky was on its last legs. On the other hand despite regaining some energy to fight Kangaskhan was paralysed completely and was panting heavily too. Then Ash asked it to perform _Comet punch_ again.

Whitney: "Lickilicky dear. Use _defence curl_ to defend against it" Due to timely command this time Lickilicky was able to curl itself before the comet punches could hurt it. Kangaskhan hit thrice using Comet punch, but suddenly the Paralysis took effect and it could not move. Whitney took the moment to order "Lickilicky, use _Rollout_ continuously"

Ash: "Dodge it kangaskhan" But because of the paralysis Kangaskhan was rooted in its place and got hit by the huge rolling ball that was Lickilicky continuously. Each hit being more powerful than the before. After being pelted continuously for five turns Kangaskhan became very tired. Ash thought _"I need to work on your Stamina, Endurance and defences even more after the battle"_

Whitney: "Use _Rollout_ once again Lickilicky" After hearing the order Lickilicky started rolling towads Kangaskhan, but its speed was slower this time showing that despite showing a strong front the Lickilicky was very tired. Whitney knew it as well and hence ordered her Lickilicky to perform the rock type move which will allow her to lessen the use of its legs.

Ash: "Use _Iron tail_ into the ground and take the Rollout. Then use _Strengt_ h to lift the Lickilicky and use every ounce of your power to perform _Reversal_ on the Lickilicky"

As soon as the orders were given Kangaskhan used the glowing iron tail as leverage and stood stiffly in its place. The huge ball of a Rollout hit it on its chest making it grunt loudly. The heavy Lickilicky's momentum caused Kangaskhan's legs to tremble, but when she heard Ash cheering her "Come on Kangaskhan. You can do it. I know you are powerful and you can do it" she caught the Lickilicky on its side which caused the Rollout to stop abruptly. Then showing impressive strength Kangaskhan lifted the Lickilicky up in the air which made the pink pokemon even more nervous. Then Kangaskhan cried out a loud 'KANGAAAAA' and her body muscles tensed up even more. After that Kangaskhan performed the super-effective retaliatory fighting-type move and threw Lickilicky towards Whitney who was standing at least at a distance of forty feet from it. The Reversal was so powerful that Lickilicky skidded along the ground and after tumbling for quite a few feet went past Whitney and crashed into the wall behind her losing consciousness immediately.

The referee announced "Lickilicky has lost consciousness and is unable to battle anymore..." After hearing the confirming words of the Referee Kangaskhan too sighed and with a peaceful sound of 'Kanga' fell flat on its back with swirls for eyes. The referee looked at it and continued "Kangaskhan has lost consciousness as well. This match is a draw. Trainers choose your next pokemons"

Ash sighed after the draw and thought _"That was a lot closer than I expected. That Lickilicky was pretty powerful and full of life if after taking so many hits it could still stand. The good thing is Kangaskhan has become very powerful. I am excited to battle along her and now I definitely want to use my lead Kangaskhan in a battle to see how much she has trained if her subordinate is this powerful to draw against a powerful pokemon in her first battle."_

Whitney recalled the Lickilicky inside her pokeball and thought _"Wow. That Kangaskhan was very powerful to lift my Lickilicky off her feet. Damn this Ash Ketchum. He is definitely giving me a run and his normal types are well trained as well. I am very excited to see what else he has. Is he going to use his famous Mew-duo against me now that I have only two more pokemons to use? I still can't believe that I lost four pokemon while he has only lost one pokemon."_

After hearing the referee Ash and Whitney both threw their pokeballs. In front of Whitney stood a pink coloured pokemon with a vaguely star-shaped body. It had long, pointed ears with dark brown tips and black, oval eyes with wrinkles on either side. A curled lock of fur hangs over its forehead, much like its long, tightly curled tail. There were dark pink wings on its back, and each wing had three points. Its hands had three fingers each, and its feet have two clawed toes and dark pink soles. It was the final form of Cleffa. Ash knew very well about the newly classified fairy type pokemon of Kanto/Johto region. After all he had encountered all three of its evolutionary line during his journey. So, he scanned with his pokedex and a mechanical voice replied _"Clefable, the 'Fairy pokemon' and the advanced form of_ _Clefairy_ _. These unique creatures are among the rarest Pokémon in the_ _world_ _."_ Ash could see the pokemon was about four and a half feet tall and was in a very good shape.

When the energy beam took shape in front of Ash, everyone could see a pokemon very well known in the farmlands of Kanto/Johto. The pokemon had brown fur and a deep brown mane with long hairs around its neck. Whitney saw the pokemon and she knew the pokemon must be very strong after seeing the calm nature it had which was quite opposite to most of the pokemon of its species. The pokemon was easily five and a half feet with very muscular legs and two sharp horns on its head. This was Ash's battle Tauros and the leader of the Tauros herd. Ash was very proud to call it his pokemon after looking at the fruition of his training. The tauros which used to be a common pokemon was no more. After getting perfect food in the New Island and training rigorously the lead Tauros had grown up, became bigger than what he was before as well as calmed down. For that reason it wanted to battle a strong opponent and Ash had given him a perfect opponent.

The referee announced "Clefable vs Tauros. Battle begin"

 **[** **Clefable vs Tauros** **]**

When Tauros looked at its opponent the Clefable took a step back under Tauros's angry gaze. Whitney recognised it to be Tauros's ability **Intimidate** which decreased Clefable's already low attack power. So, she ordered "Clefable dear. Calm down. Don't get intimidated. Use _Metronome_ " Clefable moved its fingers side to side and in front of it a green energy ball materialised. Clefable threw the _Energy ball_ at Tauros.

Ash: "Show them your speed. Dodge it" Following the order the big bull pokemon dodged the Energy ball and in an instant in front of Clefable. "Use Scary face now" The energy ball contacted with the ground at the same time when Tauros performed the scary face. The explosion behind Tauros made the Clefable to lose it Attack power sharply.

Whitney (Sigh): "Clefable, Use _Minimize_ and then use _Magical leaf_ " Increasing its evasiveness the Clefable fired some unavoidable leaves at Tauros.

Ash: "Counter using _Horn Attack_ and after the leaves fall use _flamethrower_ to send it back" Tauros stopped the glowing leaves with its glowing horn. Then he inhaled deeply making his chest broader and fired the flamethrower which came out very fast in a streamline. It was a technique which Tauros had learnt from the Charizards who continuously experimented to increase their fire power. The fire set the fallen leaves ablaze which made the fire type move even bigger.

Whitney: "Quickly Clefable, Use _Light screen_ and follow up with _Metronome_ once more to counter the fire type move" Whitney's timely order helped Clefable to erect the psychic wall that decreased the power of the incoming fire type attack, but could not stop it completely. So, after hearing Whitney once more Clefable used Metronome and this time the metronome brought out a lot of rocks to materialise from air and fell in front of Clefable. Whitney relaxed after seeing the Rock slide saving her Clefable from the fire type move.

Ash: "Looks like your training is going very well Tauros" After seeing the powerful Flamethrower Ash commented and got a loud 'Mooo' in his reply.

Whitney: "Physical attacks are useless Clefable. Use _Moon Blast_ now" Clefable eagerly threw the white moon like Fairy-type attack at Tauros.

Ash: "Use _Double team_ to evade. Then use _Work up_ and follow up with _Zen headbutt_ " A lot of decoys were created which caused the Moon blast to hit a duplicate causing a small explosion. Then all the Tauros ran towards Clefable using the powerful Psychic type move. The double team made it look like a real herd of Tauros using a group Zen-headbutt which made the Clefable nervous even more.

Whitney (Worried): "Ahhhh. Use _Moon blast_ in a circular pattern and follow up with _Moon light_ " Clefable formed a huge Moon like sphere over its head and dividing it into small spheres threw all around itself. When the energy spheres hit the illusions they were destroyed and a lot of explosions were heard making debris to fly in the air. Clefable took that time and used a makeshift moon to appear which emitted a calming light. When Clefable absorbed the lights some of its lost energy was regained and it could breathe calmly. But before it could take some ore reprieve the original Tauros crashed straight into the Clefable using the Zen headbutt which was even more powerful thanks to the use of Work up. It caused another explosion from which Clefable shot like a pinball and fell in front of Whitney.

Ash: "Now use _Thrash_ to damage it further" Tauros ran towards the tired Clefable and holding it in between his horns shook violently making it cry. The Tauros threw the Clefable backwards with a mighty head-shake. The Clefable fell on its rear behind Tauros and started crying like a baby making Whitney evn more embarrassed.

Whitney: "Stop crying Clefable. Now is your chance. Use _Moon blast_ once more followed by _Metronome_ " Clefable calmed down after the command and with a short 'clef' threw a smaller moonblast towards the Tauros's back. Then she used Metronome once more which created a orange red orb. Whitney smiled at that move because it was a fighting type move. Clefable started gathering energy for the _Focus Blast_ while the Moon blast neared Tauros.

Ash (Smirking): "Just because we are not looking doesn't mean we are unaware. Tauros Use _Iron tail_ to send that Moon blast away. Then use _Protect_ to counter the _Focus blast_." Tauros's three tails glowed white signifying the use of Iron tail and when they hit the fairy type move the Moon blast was sent away and detonated. After that Tauros erected the protective dome that stopped Focus blast in its track.

Whitney: "Use _Sing_ and follow up with _Magical leaf_ "

Ash: "Use _Uproar_ Tauros" Tauros made a loud 'Moo which reverberated in the air and the Sing could not put Tauros to fall asleep. Then the Magical leaves which were fired hit Tauros in the face. Suddenly Tauros became silent and its posture changed from calm to violent. Tauros flared his nostrils and scratched the ground using his front legs. Ash knew the Magical leaf attack didn't damage Tauros rather made him irritated which in turn activated Tauros's second ability **Anger point.**

Whitney: _"Aw oh. I didn't know the Magical leaf won't be able to even scratch the Tauros. Now it is angry and Clefable is almost out of energy. Looks like I have to go for the final attack"_ Whitney thought and ordered "Clefable. I know you are tired. So, let's finish it with a bang. Use _Dazzling Gleam_ " Clefable stood up again and concentrated hard to gather the pink coloured Fairy energy and fired at Tauros. The Pink fairy type STAB move materialised like a pink inferno of glittering particles and shot towards Tauros.

Ash: "Let's finish the battle Tauros. Use the move you have worked on so thoroughly. Use _**Iron Impact**_ and charge through the _Dazzling gleam_ " Tauros heard the command and with the Anger point maximizing his Attack stats let out a loud 'MOOOO'. Then his Horn and skull started glowing white and soon it was covered in steel like coating showing the use of _Iron Head._ Tauros started running towards the Dazzling gleam poising his head forward. Then his whole body was covered in a purplish pink energy shroud which was like a rotating drill and it was the sharpest around its head. Ash and Tauros had taken some time to combine the Iron head and Giga impact to create the very powerful _**Normal/Steel type move**_. The move was highly energy-consuming and only high level pokemons could perform it like Tauros was doing. Tauros shot like a huge cannon-drill and soon crashed into the incoming Dazzling gleam.

Whitney expected the Dazzling gleam to at least inflict some damage, but when she saw the Iron Impact she immediately knew the round was lost as well. True to her assumptions the super-effective Normal/Steel type STAB move pierced through the fairy type move like a hot knife through butter and made it split into thousands of energy rays. Then in no time Tauros crashed straight into Clefable who was fatigued to its core after performing back to back powerful moves. The impact caused a loud Bang which reverberated throughout the open air. Every pokemon standing in the side lines were wide-eyed after seeing the effect of the Iron Impact. Whitney also cried out "Clefable No". When the huge dust cloud settled after a few seconds everyone could see Tauros standing proudly on its four legs and looking at the wall behind Whitney. When Ash saw why he became very proud of his Tauros's power. The reason was Clefable was imbedded into the wall deeply which had cracked the wall around it. The Clefable was clearly unconscious, but the thing that showed the damage was the bruise that was forming all over its body which made the Clefable look like very big pink coloured ball.

The referee announced "Clefable is unable to battle. Tauros is the winner. Gym leader please choose your final pokemon" Whitney recalled her defeated Clefable back inside her pokeball. After the declaration Tauros became calm once more and after thanking him Ash also recalled him inside his pokeball.

Whitney was thinking _"Wow. His Tauros totally dominated the battle. I never knew a Tauros could be this powerful. This Ash Ketchum is truly something. If his regular pokemons are already this powerful, then what about his Legendary mew-duo? There are also speculations going on regarding him owning some more legendary pokemons too. Well if I am going to lose then I will give it my all i the net battle."_

She looked at Ash who had a deep green pokeball in his hands. Whitney said "Your Tauros was indeed very powerful, Ash. So far you have shown great potential, but my final pokemon for the battle is my starter. So, be prepared to face my strongest" With that she threw a pokeball which emitted a white energy to send out her final pokemon. The pokemon was the same one she had used in the regular gym-battle, but this pokemon looked a bit bigger than the regular of its species. It was a Miltank.

Ash said "Whitney. Till now you have also proved to be a very strong opponent and I enjoyed the match immensely. But if you are using your strongest pokemon, then I won't hold back either. The pokemon I am going to use is probably the strongest Normal-type pokemon I have. I would go as far as to say that he is probably one of my strongest pokemons barring the legendaries. I won't have used him in this match, but he wanted to test his mettle against a high level pokemon after training for so long. So, get ready for the toughest battle of your life till now. GO POKEBALL"

After hearing Ash Whitney was more excited than before. She wanted to see the pokemon which Ash claimed as one of his strongest and it was a normal type pokemon as well. When the ball opened a white energy beam shot out and started taking shape. After the pokemon completely took shape what stood made Whitney coo in delight as well as surprised her, because the pokemon was a highly coveted Normal-type all over the world and it was very rare to own one of its kind. The pokemon was Ash's Snorlax and letting out a loud 'Snor' it confirmed its presence in the battle field.

Whitney's Miltank which stood at an impressive five feet took a step back after looking at the deep green normal-type behemoth, because if a normal size Snorlax was imposing then Ash's Snorlax was downright scary. When Ash caught Snorlax it was bigger than usual Snorlaxes who usually grew up till seven feet in height, but the Snorlaxwas very young. So, when Ash provided him with ample food, nutrition, vitamin and training Snorlax started to grow in size. In front of everyone was standing a huge Fifteen-foot tall rotund pokemon with a huge belly. After training under Ash in weight-lifting, speed, stamina, defence and especially power the Snorlax's muscles had tightened for which despite being covered in thicker fat than usual it's muscular figure could be easily distinguished.

The referee announced "Snorlax vs Miltank battle begin"

 **[Snorlax vs Miltank]**

Whitney: "Miltank don't get intimidated by the sheer size of the Snorlax. Use _Focus Blast_ " The special type fighting sphere was thrown at Snorlax.

Ash: "Snorlax. This is your first battle against a gym leader's ace pokemon. So, let's test out your training. Show me your defence take that Focus blast using Amnesia" Snorlax nodded and didn't budge from it's place rather using Amnesia increased his Special defence stats sharply. When the fighting type move crashed into Snorlax it didn't budge from its place. A small explosion was created on his belly which didn't do any damage to the normal type behemoth.

Seeing the Snorlax take a very powerful Fighting type move without any damage Whitney knew she was screwed. So, she decided to go All out.

Whitney: "Miltank honey. We can't hold back to see what else the Snorlax can do. We have to finish it fast. Use _focus blast_ once more and attack up close with _Zen head butt_ "

Ash: "Use _Amnesia_ once more Snorlax. Then use _Defence Curl_ to take the damage" Snorlax increased both of its defences. So, neither the Focus blast nor the Zen headbutt were able to do any damage.

Whitney: "Gah. Use _curse_ and then use _Gyro Ball_ " The miltank sacrificed its speed in favour of increasing its attack and defence. Then it used the Gyro ball by rotating around itself and crashed into the still standing Snorlax.

Ash: "Use _Fire punch_ to send away the Miltank" Snorlax's fist was surrounded in red hot flames. Then it used the fire type move against the steel type move resulting in a small explosion creating smoke.

When the smoke was clear Ash and Whitney saw that Snorlax's hand was still in the forward position while Miltank was on its back sporting a bruise and nothing else. Ash commented "So, the miltank has _**Thick fat**_ as its ability. Then Fire and ice type attacks are useless"

Whitney: "Get up Miltank. Use _Milk Drink_ to regain some energy. Then use _Giga impact_ point blank"

Ash: "You too use Belly drum followed by your own _Giga impact_ "

With the commands passed Miltank regained its energy while Snorlax maximised his Attack sacrificing half of its energy. Then both Miltank and Snorlax were surrounded by the purplish pink energy shroud and started running against each other. While Miltank looked like a pink cannon ball Snorlax became a huge ball of energy and when both of them touched each other Miltank's Giga impact detonated and Snorlax was caught in the resulting explosion which looked like a miniature sun. When the light died out Snorlax was still standing although some of its fur on the belly was blackened, but Miltank was lying flat on its back once more and its belly was swollen like a football.

Ash: "Good job Snorlax. Now while it's recharging after the _Giga impact_ use _Gunk shot_ "

Whitney: "Oh no Miltank. Try to get up and use _defence curl_ to take that Gunk shot"

Snorlax used the poison type move and thanks to its secondary ability Immunity the poison didn't affect him despite not being a poison type pokemon himself. The purple goo hit Miltank and soon Miltank turned purple signifying it was poisoned. Whitney cursed because despite the defence curl Miltank did take some significant damage as well as got poisoned.

Whitney: "Use _Rollout_ Miltank. Keep it up. You have to before the poison consumes you fully." Soon Miltank stood up with wobbly feet and started rolling towards Snorlax.

Ash shook his head in disappointment. He wanted a challenge for his Snorlax and thought the strongest pokemon of a Gym-leader's personal team could provide that but he was wrong. Then he looked at his Snorlax who was standing lazily and thought _"May be I over-trained Snorlax. He has outclassed Miltank and despite sacrificing half of his HP is not even fatigued slightly"_ Ash shook his head and decided to end the battle.

Ash: "Snorlax use full power _Heavy Slam_ "

Snorlax nodded and concentrated very hard to gather energy. Soon his whole hand was covered in White light and looked like a metal pole. Then he hit the rolling Miltank with such speed that was seemingly impossible for a pokemon of his size. Due to the huge size and weight difference between Snorlax and Miltank as well as the combined physical prowess of the Normal type dark green behemoth the powerful Steel-type move halted Miltank in its tracks for a second. Then a loud bell like sound was heard by all which was so loud that it made every pokemon and humans to close their ears.

The thing that shocked Whitney was her heavy Miltank who was still curled like a ball shot past like a bullet from a gun and this time the fence wall had a huge hole in it thanks to the immense power behind the Heavy slam. When everyone looked outside they saw the Miltank deeply imbedded into the ground. When the referee saw it he commented "Miltank is unable to battle. Snorlax is the winner. With the Gym leader out of useable pokemon the winner of the six-on-six battle is the challenger."

When Ash heard the declaration he was even prouder than before while Whitney was not so surprised. She shook her head and when she saw the Snorlax who utterly destroyed her most powerful pokemon she sweat dropped because the Snorlax was on its back and was sleeping with his huge belly moving up and down. She looked at Ash and said "He sure is a very lively one" Ash scratched his head embarrassed and said "That's Snorlax for you. After the battle is over he goes to sleep. Sometimes even I get confused about what he likes more: Food or his beauty sleep"

Soon Whitney congratulated Ash and said "You showed that you are indeed a very good trainer Ash. You defeated me using a type which I train exclusively. For the decisive win today I hereby award you with this Silver feather on your Golden-Rod gym-badge." Ash pinned the feather with the badge and then closed his badge case. Then Ash recalled Snorlax into his pokeball and went to show it to the younger pokemons standing on the sidelines.

 **[Pokespech** _ **Activated**_ **]**

The moment the female Kangaskhan defeated the big Lickilicky celebrations began among the junior batch. At first the male Flaaffy said _"Wow. The Kangaskhan is so powerful. I have met the herd, but I thought they didn't want to battle at all. Now that I have seen one battle I would definitely like to have a spar with her"_

Pikachu said _"Not all of them want to battle. This Kangaskhan is the only other Kangaskhan who wants to battle besides their leader. They are usually docile except for these two. Wait for the lady Kangaskhan to come out for battle"_

Sunflora said _"Definitely impressive. That Lickilicky was no joke as well. It dished out some powerful attacks against Kangaskhan. After seeing the battle till now I won't mind training some more. If I want to become stronger then I will have to battle some pokemons like the Lickilicky in the future and I want to be prepared for that"_

After that the moment came when the so called 'Stampede' came out. This time the loudest to cheer was the mature Stantler. Everyone looked at him like he was crazy. Stantler explained _"Don't look at me like that. You probably don't know, but the moment I came to know about the extremely strong Tauros Ash has I wanted to meet with him. You guys have to understand that I am a herd leader as well and always wanted to challenge another leader. When I came to know that 'Stampede' is the leader of one of the largest groups on New island I wanted to challenge hi, but got defeated by another Tauros and he refused to spar against me unless I could defeat that Tauros. As a leader it was demeaning, but as a pokemon it was an eye-opener for me. From that day onwards I increased my training and now that I am getting a chance to see the Normal-type leader battle I am not gonna miss the chance to observe his moves."_ Everyone listened to him and nodded in agreement after understanding his sentiments.

Soon the battle between Tauros and Clefable came to an end and everyone was speechless seeing the Normal-type Quadruped pokemon defeating a fairy-type quite easily without taking much damage. Stantler was wide eyed and said "Did you all see that?" Everyone could only nod after being speechless. Then he continued _"I never knew Normal type pokemons could be so powerful. We are more often than not underestimated in the pokemon world. But now that I have seen the proof that if we train hard we could be powerful I am not going to stop until I could battle 'Stampede' as his equal"_

Pikachu said _"Which is not possible for now and don't forget while you will be training to match his current power level he won't sit still either. He will also continue to train. So, be prepared to get an even stronger Tauros when you decided to finally challenge him for a spar."_ This ignited another fire in the already pumped up Stantler's eyes. Everyone rolled their eyes at the hero-worship display.

Now it was time for the final match of the day. Everyone waited patiently for the so called 'Jumbo' to finally materialise. Ash threw the deep green coloured pokeball which contained Snorlax.

Croconaw asked _"Hey. Why is that pokeball green? I want one too."_

Everyone's eye twitched at that comment and Sunflora said _"Stop complaining. It should be we who should ask for a different pokeball not you. You already have your beautiful Lure ball Ash had used to capture you and it is further modified to suit your colour"_ Croconaw scratched his head in embarrassment.

Thankfully Pikachu stopped the argument before it could ascalate and said _"Don't worry. Ash was contemplating to change the pokeballs' colour according to us. I changed mine into a golden pokeball with triple brown lines like on my back. Mew-duo has their respective coloured pokeballs. Charizards were not much interested. So, Ash changed the colour accordingto his choice. So, don't bother and just ask Ash"_

Every one stopped bickering and waited for the Snorlax to come out. Snorlax was very famous among the pokemons for being lazy and sleepy, but still he was considered one of the strongest of them all. The ones like Pikachu who knew him always advised never to come in the way of Jumbo and his food especially when he was hungry. The pokemons from Johto region all knew it quite well after the incident regarding Tyranitar.

The incident started after Tyranitar was rejected a spar by some of the older pokemons and they asked her to train some more before asking them out. This infuriated her and her ego of being a Pseudo-legendary couldn't handle it. So, she fired a Hyper-beam in the distance which unfortunately destroyed a pile of berries Snorlax was going to eat.

After a while every new member from Johto who were touring the New Island gathered near Tyranitar following the shaking earth, but when they came near her they saw a huge Snorlax coming out of the forest path which was carved by Tyranitar's hyper beam. They had heard about him and were advised to not make him angry. _He came near Tyranitar and in a gruff voice asked "Did you fire that Hyper beam?"_

Tyranitar who took it as a chance to finally spar against a strong opponent replied " _Yeah. So, what?"_ Snorlax squeezed his eyes and started shaking in anger. Nobody could forget what happened after that though because the beating Tyranitar took that day still brought a chill through them, but all the new and younger pokemons like Dratini, Mareep, Houndour, the johto starters etc. learned a very important lesson and it was: Never to bite more than they could chew.

So, when the large behemoth utterly destroyed the very strong looking Miltank, who the gym-leader had claimed to be her most powerful pokemon, everybody had their jaws on the floor expect for Pikachu who was laughing at their gob-smacked reaction.

Then the excited male Dratini asked _"Hey uncle Pikachu? Will I be able to fight like uncle snorlax after I evolve into dragonite? I want to be super strong like him. Did you see how easily he defeated the Miltank. It was so one-sided that I don'teven know what to say anymore. Are all the old pokemons this strong?"_ The female dratini joined in _"Yeah Pikachu. You are the oldest among all the pokemons Ash has. So, I would like to know from you about some of the strongest pokemons who could go toe to toe against 'Jumbo'? Although every pokemon Ash used today were strong, but Tauros and especially Snorlax showed us what true power means. So, I would definitely like to know who else are this powerful. Can you fight Snorlax and defeat him?"_ Pikachu sighed at the bombardment of questions and at the eager eyes of everyone on him to know the answer.

Pikachu thought _"I guess being the oldest of them all I have to answer them or they won't leave me alone"_ So giving much thought he answered carefully _"Well. If you want to know then I would have to explain then. So, listen carefully. The pokemons who have been training in the New Island are gradually gaining power, but there are some pokemons whose growth rate and power increased at a more accelerated rate after the secluded, rigorous and extreme training they do every day. So far you have seen nothing compared to what some of them can do. Moreover whatever you saw today from Tauros and Snorlax was not their full power."_

Evryone gave a loud _"WHAT! YOU ARE KIDDIG. RIGHT?" Pikachu refused and said "No, it's true. A pokemon's true power is known from its physical condition after the battle and what you saw today from them?"_

Stantler said _"Tauros was panting a bit after the very powerful Iron Imapct defeated Clefable._

Flaafy said _"Snorlax was not even panting. Heck he looked almost bored after the battle if the yawning and going to sleep after the battle indicated anything"_

Pikachu smiled and said _"Exactly. If they were not fatigued means they were not completely spent and I would like to say that Tauros was using at maximum of Seventy percent of his power to battle today. The Iron Impact you saw was definity huge, but I have seen 'Stampede' using it much bigger and among all of us he is probably the only one to have perfected the severely power consuming move."_

Then he looked at stantler and said _"Don't try that out on your own. Ash had given much thought before Tauros could complete the move and I personally know currently you don't have the stamina or energy to even generate the energy it requires let alone performing it. So, wait some more and I think you will be able to perform the move"_

Then Pikachu continued _"Where was I? Yeah, talking about Tauros. Now if I have to guess honestly, then I would say Snorlax didn't feel the Miltank as a challenge at all. That's why he was using not more than thirty percent of his current power."_ Evrybody was slack-jawed at the shocking revelation.

Then Pikachu continued _"Now about the other questions. I would say there are some pokemon who can definitely give Tauros a run for his money. Squirtle, Bulbasaur, Wartortle, Ivysaur, both the Ninetails, Raichu, Golduck, Rapidash and some of the eeveelutions are some of the pokemon who are as strong as if not stronger than Tauros"_ Everyone and especially Stantler was surprised at the long list.

Then Pikachu said _"Snorlax on the other hand is a powerhouse. In terms of Physical prowess, defences and Stamina there are very few who can match him. He has probably the highest HP among all the oldest pokemon. He can take a lot more damage than what he took today and the rate at which he recovers from injuries is astounding as well. Gengar, the two Nidos, Rhydon, Hitmonlee, the male pidgeot and Gyarados are probably the only ones who could go against a full powered Snorlax. Then there are the Charizard-duo, Blastoise, Venusaur and the legendary birds that can defeat him easily even at full power. As for me, I think I can defeat him two out of three times, but in terms of most power I would say Mew and MewTwo are definitely_ _ **THE**_ _strongest pokemon among us. So, did you understand how far you all have to go before asking us for a battle? So, I would advice after returning to New Island train harder, take nutrients and in time you al will be very powerful."_

Sunflora, Flaafffy, the dratini duo and Stantler were shocked at the long list.

Sunflora said _"Venusaur, Bulbasaur and Ivysaur are that powerful. It's still hard to believe"_

The dratini-duo looked at each other and said _"Wow. So, the charizards are that strong, Huh? Guess we still have to go a long way before they would accept to spar against us. We first would have to defeat Snorlax to show them we are ready to battle against them. Man, some time ago it looked so easy, but after watching today's battle we are clear that simple evolution won't give us enough power for that. We would have to train for that."_

Stantler said _"I am definitely going to train harder if there are so many strong pokemon to battle against"_

Croconaw chipped in _"Wow. So, there are some water types in that list. Man, I never knew the turtles are that strong. Now I understood why I was defeated so easily by the Squirtle last time we battled. I have to take some tips from them to increase my strength"_

Then they saw Ash coming towards them and showed them the badge case where the second feather was attached with the plane badge. Everybody cheered loudly at that. Then Ash recalled them into their pokeballs and riding in Whitney's scooter went to the pokemon centre to take some rest as well as to treat his tired pokemon because it was getting late as well as after the battle he was feeling very hungry.

 _(Scene Break)_ **[Pokespech** _ **Deactivated**_ **]**

The next day Ash woke up as usual at five am and after finishing his training went back to the pokemon centre to call Prof. Oak and to have breakfast. Soon he was near the telephone booth and using the video phone called Prof. Oak. The ring was going on and soon the Professor received the call, but he could not recognise Ash who was using his newly modified uniform which covered his face and hair as well as his appearance.

Ash: "Hey Prof. Oak. Good morning. How are you doing today?"

Oak: "Good morning young man. I am doing fine. Thank you. Before we talk anymore could you please tell me who are you and have we met before?"

Ash: "What are you saying professor. I am Ash. Don't you remember?"

Oak: "Ash. My boy. Sorry for not recognising, but what with this new get up you are wearing? Though you are looking quite fashionable I would say"

Ash: "Tone down your voice professor. Too many ears to hear. I don't know about fashion, but I am wearing it to hide my identity from all the fans those recognise me. You never said becoming famous would be this arduous of a work."

Oak (Chuckling): "Ah, yes. Of course, the joy of having fans. I think that slight fact slipped from my mind at the time I gave you the pokedex. Still I don't think the new costume is going to help you with your dilemma. If anything it may cause a lot more to get attracted towards you mostly the female ones... he he he" Oak said with n underlying perverseness.

Ash (Shook his head): "Don't trouble me anymore Professor. I have to leave Golden-Rod as soon as possible because everyone knows that I was spotted here lately. So, Could you please take Snorlax, Tauros, Persian, Fearow, Kangaskhan, Pidgeot, Croconaw, Sunflora, Flaaffy and Stantler. In return please send Tyranitar, Numel, Spoink, Noctowl, Articuno, Moultress and Zapdos. Please send me the lead Houndour too after asking the rest to look after Mom while their leader is with me"

Oak nodded and soon the transfer was complete. Ash had left with two open spaces for any new capture. After that he went to have breakfast along with Pikachu. Everyone else was already fed after Ash had asked the Nurse Joy to provide them with food after the checkups and the rest were fed at Oak's.

Ash was having his breakfast and could hear some of the girls giving him a look that resembled predatory. So, he concentrated on his food and tried to hear what was being talked about among people. The girls were talking about him very slowly which made him a bit uncomfortable because he was still only eleven and those talks were very unfamiliar to him. Then he heard another group talking about his heroics in saving the radio tower. With everyone talking about him he decided to leave Golden-Rod as soon as possible.

(Scene Break)

Ash was going north of Golden-Rod when he heard about the Bug-catching contest in the national park. He decided to travel there and participate in it. He got some pokeballs exclusively for that event and caught a Combee which was a female. Then he won a Sun-stone for his efforts and was challenged by an old friend, Casey. Ash chuckled at the memory of her.

Casey took it wrongly and said "Why are you smiling, Mr? Do you accept my challenge or not?" Ash replied "Oh nothing. Just remembering how far you have come in your journey. It was like yesterday when you had challenged me with your Chikorita, Casey"

Casey said "Hey. How do you know my name and how come I don't remember you when you know me? I don't think I have ever met you before."

Ash said "Oh. We have met before, Casey; just not in the same costume I am wearing. I will tell you if you could defeat me. What do you say to a three-on-three pokemon battle?" Casey nodded and soon the trainers stood opposite each other while a crowd was gathered.

(Battle Scene)

Ash and Casey both threw their pokeballs. In front of Casey a Pidgeotto materialised while from Ash's pokeball came out his seven feet long male dratini.

Ash: "So, your Pidgey evolved? Interesting"

Casey: "Whoever you are if you know that she was a pidgey then let me tell you she has become very powerful after evolving" Then she ordered "Use _Twister_ on that dratini"

Ash: "Counter with your own _Twister_ Dratini' twister having STAB and more powerful destroyed Pidgeotto's Twister and moved forward catching it within.

Casey: "Oh no. Pidgeotto try to come out of that. Use _Gust_ to counter" Pidgeotto used the flying type move to create a small gust which freed it from the twister.

Ash: "Use _Thunder wave_ to paralyse it. Then use _Iron tail_ " The back to back attacks paralyse the pidgeotto and the Iron tail damaged it and lowered its defence as well.

Caasey: "Pidgeotto, use _Air cutter_ " The tired pidgeotto created small sickles of wind and threw them towards the Dratini.

Seeing no use in stretching the battle Ash ordered "Use _Dragon Rush_ to crash through that and then Use _**Iron Wrap**_ on it to suffocate it." Dratini was surrounded by the deep blue draconic energy and crashed straight through the Air cutter and with the blink of an eye was upon Pidgeotto. Then he wrapped his serpentine body around the flying pokemon, but then his body started glowing like a steel starting from his tail and gradually his whole body was covered in the steel like glow. Ash was very proud after seeing the pokemon perform the Iron tail and wrap combo. The pidgeotto lost consciousness within a couple of seconds after that.

Dratini didn't stop glowing at that though. Its body elongated and when the light died out in place of Dratini was a twelve feet long Dragonair, who was in the air showing its flying ability. Ash was surprised at that. He was getting worried about his two Dratinis because they had not evolve even after training so hard, but now he realised they needed battle experience from a real battle which pushed one of the duo to evolve. He congratulated the Dragonair, but didn't recall him into his pokeball, rather asked him to return to his side and to watch the next fight. Then he threw his next pokeball and his female Dratini came out. Her eyes immediately fell on the Dragonair and she started examining him from every side. Then she realised that it was the same male Dratini she used to spar with. She pouted and looked at Ash with teary eyes as if asking _"Why is he a Dragonair, while I am still a Dratini?"_ Ash could feel it thanks to his empathetic with her and replied "Don't worry. He evolved first, but you will evolve after fighting a stronger opponent than his? Is the reason good enough for you to forgive me?" She cooed and slithered a bit to face her opponent.

Casey recalled her pokemon and thought _"I don't know who he is, but he is definitely good. His Dratini evolved after the battle. That means if I happen to fight him in the johto league then I could expect at least one dragonite if his second Dratini also evolved. Damn. What a trainer!"_ Then she threw her pokeball from which a strong looking Bayleef materialised.

Ash: "If I am not wrong this is your starter pokemon which used to be a Chikorita. The same one which once fought against a Pikachu and got defeated. Right?"

Casey: "That was the toughest fight He ever had. Even the gym leaders' pokemons are not strong as that Pikachu. Still it was worth it. That Pikachu belonged to Ash Ketchum. What else did you expect? Besides how do you know about that battle? Do you know Ash Ketchum?"

Ash: "How I know doesn't matter. Now let's focus on the battle"

Casey: "Bayleef, use _Razor leaf_ "

Ash: "Dratini, use _ice beam_ to counter those leaves" Dratini followed eagerly and a white icy beam materialised in front of it. Then she fired it which caused the leaved to freeze up. Then the ice type move continued and hit Bayleef on the chest before Casey could utter a single command.

Casey: "Oh no. Not again. Bayleef, Use _Energy ball_ " The green grass type energy sphere was formed in front of Bayleef and it fired the sphere towards Dratini.

Ash: "Use Iron tail to send it back. Then use Dragon rage to finish it"

Dratini followed the command and using every ounce of draconic energy she had, fired the Dragon type STAB move on the Bayleef which created a small explosion. When the smaoke cleared Bayleef had swirls for eyes. Dratini cheered loudly and with a loud 'Tini' was engulfed in the familiar white light showing Evolution. After a while there was another slender looking serpentine pokemon flying through the air. Ash congratulated both of them. His pokedex scanned the male Dragonair and informed him that the pokemon had the ability _**Shed skin**_ and upon evolution he had learned a new move that was Dragon tail. His female Dragonair had the same ability, but upon evolution she learned Dragon Pulse along with Dragon tail.

Casey recalled her fallen Bayleef and sent out her strongest pokemon. It was a famous electric type pokemon all over the world. It was her Electrabuzz. Ash saw the pokemon and recalled his Dragonairs. Then he threw his Houndour to battle. After seeing the larger than normal Houndour Casey knew she was screwed.

Casey: "Use _Charge_ and then use _Thunderbolt_ on the Houndour"

Ash: "You too Houndour. Use _Nasty Plot_ and then use _Flamethrower_ to counter that Thunderbolt.

Soon the electrabuzz fired a concentrated bolt of Electricity. Houndour fired a very huge continuous red hot flame against it. When the two different elemental attacks crashed in the middle of the field, both started to push one another to gain the advantage, but when neither could overpower the other a loud explosion occurred with a loud BOOM. There was a twenty feet high mushroom cloud. When the environment cleared a bit Electrabuzz was blackened due to the heat and was unconscious. Houndour on the other hand was relatively unscathed thanks to its fire-typing. Casey recalled her pokemon and was teary eyed after the one-sided battle.

She looked at her opponent and said "Congratulations for the win. I have not faced such humiliation since my battle against Ash. Now will you please tell me who you are?"

Ash recalled his Houndour after praising him for the display. Ash chuckled and said "Sorry, but a deal is a deal. If you really want to know who I am you can come with me to Ecruteak city. Let's go to the next pokemon centre for now and there we can know each other while doing lunch. You have earned your Plane badge from the Golden-Rod gym. Right?"

Casey agreed and continued with Ash after saying "Yeah, I too am going for my fourth badge. It would be better to go with you rather than travelling alone."

(Scene Break)

Casey and Ash were travelling through a forest path when they saw a lone pidgey being chased by a fearow. Ash ordered his Pikachu to electrocute that fearow which fell down upon getting a powerful thunderbolt from nowhere.

Casey asked "You have a Pikachu? It was inside the backpack all the time?" She still could not recognise Ash because he was wearing glasses and his face was covered with the scarf and his hair was inside the band. Though she thought that Pikachu to be very familiar.

After Ash and Casey rescued the Pidgey, they took it to the pokemon centre in the nearby town where they had their lunch. There Ash helped the owner of the Pidgey, a boy named Malachi. Apparently the pidgey named 'Ken' was a Carrier Pidgey and was the part of a Pidgey delivery service known as "The Pidgey Express".

Ash rescued all the pidgey from the hands of Team rocket who wanted to steal them. Ash used his Noctowl to hypnotise Jessie, James and Meowth. Then he asked Noctowl to use _Steel wing_ to tear the net which had all the pidgeys in it. Finally he ordered Noctowl to use a full power _Air Slash_ to cut the meowth shaped balloon which blasted the three rockets off again.

Then Ash helped the boy Malachi by convincing his grandfather that with enough training he could inherit the business. Then he proved that when the pidgey delivered a parcel perfectly after getting some tips from Ash's Noctowl. Malachi and his Grandfather thanked Ash for all his efforts. By the time the incident was over it was almost late evening. Ash and Casey booked two rooms. Casey went to sleep after inner, but Ash went to the nearby forest to train his pokemons especially Numel, Spoink, Noctowl and Houndour. Ash took off his coat as well because nobody could recognise him in the dark. Besides Pikachu was on watch during the training period. The training continued till midnight because Houndour, Spoink and Numel wanted to spend some more time with Ash for the first time after so long. Like that another day in Ash Ketchum's life came to an end.

[Chapter End]

 **HAPPY NEW YEAR - 2017. This is the first chapter after new year. So, enjoy till next update**

 **A/N:** **ASH's on hand team(Max capacity 13):**

 _Pikachu, Dragonair (1M, 1F)_

 _Tyranitar, Numel, Spoink,_

 _Lead Houndour, Noctowl, Combee_

 _Articuno, Moultress, Zapdos._

 **A/N 2:** In this story I have changed some facts. Such as in the prequel Chronicles of the chosen one: Pokemon Master" by Nateman364 there were male Kangaskhans, but in this one I have changed it. According to pokemon encyclopaedia the Kangaskhans are one of the few FEMALE-Only species and I don't think there is any need to change that, because there are many male pokemons of the egg group who are of different species and kangaskhans could be breeded with them. Besides when the Kangaskhan mega-evolves the baby comes out of the pouch and a pouch is possible and looks good on a female one. Hence, it is impossible for a male Kangaskhan to mega-evolve which certainly makes me to believe that there is no need of male kangaskhans. So, I am ignoring that aspect from the prequel. That is all.


	7. Chapter 7: Ep 33 - Way to Ecruteak

**A/N:** This is a continuation of the story "Chronicles of the chosen one: Pokemon Master" by Nateman364 . I loved the story so much that after it was put on Permanent Hiatus I decided the story deserves at least a finish of the Johto Journeys. So, I tried to contact the Author but could not get a reply. So I continued the Johto journeys. I want to complete at least the Johto journeys. So, before reading the story read the story by Nateman364. The link to the story is s/8033836/1/COTCHO-PM-Permanent-Hiatus. Then I want to declare that I DO NOT OWN POKEMON BUT THE IDEA FROM HERE ON IS MINE, SOME OF WHICH ARE INFLUENCED BY SOME OF THE STORIES I HAVE READ. So, let's continue with the story.

 **Ep 32** **–** **On the way to Ecruteak**

As Ash and Casey continue their journey, they moved from the road as a Tauros passed by disobeying his trainer. Ash saw that Tauros is running to an old man and went to warn the old man. The old man looked behind and grabbed a Pokéball from his robe, but Ash came and brought his male Dragonair, so the old man watched. Dragonair used Thunder wave to paralyse the Tauros and then hit it hard using Iron Tail between its horns. The Tauros fainted immediately unable to take the back to back attacks.

The trainer came and apologised, as he was training with him and called Tauros back. The old man was excited how Ash battled and proposed a job for him. He brought him and Casey to his home, a dojo and presented a school for Fighting Pokémon. Ash watched a Hitmontop for the first time, who presented its fighting style by going on his head and spinning, showing defence and offense at the same time.

The old man then introduced himself as Kenzo and was proud to be the shihan of the Dojo. He described to both Ash and Casey that Shihan meant 'leader of the dojo'. The students came and bowed before Kenzo. The girl who was the trainer of the Hitmontop came at last and introduced herself as Chigusa.

Chigusa asked Kenzo to declare her as the next Shihan, but Kenzo scolded her by saying that he won't do it if she continued to train her pokemon in non-traditional ballet dance like style. Then he proposed the enraged Chigusa that if she could defeat Ash then he would let her be the Shihan. Chigusa agreed with that and said "If I have to defeat this trainer to become the Shihan, then I accept the challenge" and asked Ash to choose his fighting type pokemon.

Ash informed her that he didn't have a fighting type at that time, but if a fighting type is most necessary then given some time, he could fetch one of his fighting types. Kenzo intervened and permitted Ash to use his Dragonair who supposedly used Iron tail like a fighting type move showing great fighting spirit. Ash chose his pokemon and Chigusa chose Hitmontop. Chigusa ordered her pokemon to use Rolling Kick. Hitmontop started spinning on its head and attacked. Dragonair wrapped itself around Hitmontop's midsection and used Iron Wrap to stop the blood circulation in the Hitmontop's body. Hitmontop could not take the attack and fainted within a few seconds.

Then a trainer named Shiro came and challenged the Dojo. Chigusa recognised him as the "Dojo Destroyer" who had an infamous reputation of defeating the Shihans and ruining their dojos. She became very sad because her pokemon was unconscious when the time was most necessary. Kenzo threw his pokeball and a strong Machoke came out, but everybody sweat-dropped when both Kenzo and Machoke cried out loudly holding their backs showing both of them were very old for fighting.

Then Ash decided to help Kenzo and said "Look Shiro. I was the first to battle the Hitmontop which caused it to faint. So, let's have a battle. If I win you will give them a day to prepare for the challenge, but if you win I will leave the dojo and you can challenge the dojo immediately. What do you say?" Shiro being an overconfident guy accepted the deal while bragging about how he would destroy Ash.

Kenzo agreed to be the referee for the battle. It was further decided that in the match no special moves would be allowed, being a dojo challenge. Ash agreed and soon the battle began. As soon as Kenzo announced the match, Shiro ordered his Hitmonlee to use _Rolling kick._ Ash decided not to prolong the match and ordered his Dragonair to use _Iron wrap_ after dodging the Rolling kick. Dragonair manoeuvred his serpentine body in a magnificent fashion allowing him to bind Hitmonlee's hands and legs. Then using the Normal/Steel type move he squeezed Hitmonlee making it immobile. Kenzo counted 'Three, Two, One', but when Hitmonlee could not even budge Dragonair to loosen his hold, Kenzo declared Ash the Winner of the match.

Chigusa was slack-jawed by the decisive way Ash destroyed Shiro without taking a single hit. The Dragonair let Hitmonlee go after the result was declared and as per the deal Shiro agreed to provide the Shihan of the Dojo till the evening of the next day. Before everyone could go on their ways though, the field was covered by smoke, as Team Rocket took Hitmontop and Hitmonlee using a net while their trainers were busy discussing. Shiro and Cried out "Hitmonlee" and "Hitmontop" worriedly.

Ash came to their rescue by sending out his Noctowl to cut the Net by using _Steel Wing_ on it effectively freeing both the fighting types. Jessie sent Arbok and James Victreebel to re-capture the pokemons. Hitmon top was still unconscious while Hitmonlee was prepared to battle Victreebel. So, Ash asked Dragonair to fight Arbok. Arbok used _Poison Sting_ on Dragonair, but misses. Hitmonlee uses _Jump Kick_ , but fell asleep due to Victreebel's _Sleep Powder_. Victreebel went to attack, but fell asleep by Noctowl's _Hypnosis_ , while Dragonair tossed Arbok to the balloon via _Wrap_. Then Dragonair used _Flamethrower_ to make Victreebel faint as well. Ash ordered Noctowl to finish the battle by using Steel wing through team rocket's balloon which made a hole in the balloon and team rocket were blasted off again chanting their motto. Shiro called Hitmonlee back and left by promising to return the next day.

Kenzo was sceptical about the match the next day. So he asked Ash and Casey to stay in the dojo for the night as it was almost dinner time. Then he asked Ash to help Chigusa train Hitmontop. At first Chigusa was angry because it sounded demeaning to her, but after she recalled how easily Dragonair defeated Hitmonlee agreed to get training from Ash the next morning. Ash and Casey both agreed to stay there as well rather than travelling whole night.

The next morning Ash woke up early and went to the nearby forest to do warm up, jogging and push-ups. After looking every way Ash took out his jacket, undershirt, bandanna, glasses and face-mask before doing his morning exercise. He didn't know that Chigusa, Kenzo and Casey were worried after not finding him inside his room and had started searching for him in the nearby forest.

After some time they found a young man doing push-ups on the river-bank. They recognised him to be Ash after seeing the folded dress under the tree. Casey took it as her chance to see Ash's face that was always covered and started moving forward. Meanwhile a thought was inside her as well as Chigusa's mind _"Wow. He is so hot. Look at those muscles, neither too lean nor too bulky."_ Both of them had a decent blush adoring their cheeks.

Suddenly Ash stood up and poured water on his head and rotated his body slightly. The water dropping from his wet hair and the water droplets on his six-pack abs was the final straw for the girls. They never thought of seeing such a scene that early in the morning and from such a young guy nonetheless. Suddenly they heard a loud 'Pika' behind them and saw a Pikachu racing towards Ash. The Pikachu jumped on the young man's shoulder and sat on it getting a laugh from Ash. Then Ash turned around to get his dress and everybody could finally see his face. Casey was slack-jawed while Chigusa and Kenzo were really shocked after recognising Ash. Ash on the other hand was thinking _"Au oh! I should have been more careful while training. Now I have to face twenty questions again. Casey looks angry though. I should have told her before"_

True to his thoughts Casey was in front of him and glaring angrily and putting her hands on her waist asked "Mr. Ash Ketchum. It was you the whole time?" Ash scratched his head in embarrassment and smiled slightly. The small gesture showed the rippling muscles on his hand and distracted Casey and Chigusa from further commenting. Casey came out of it and said "Don't try denying me. I should have recognised you after I saw Pikachu that day on your shoulder and what with the incognito mode? I thought we were friends. You should have told me" Ash replied "Sorry for that, but you should understand my predicament. I wanted some privacy an there were quite a few eyes when we battled. Then we fell onto one adventure after another and I could not get a chance to reveal myself. For that I am truly SORRY" Casey saw the sincerity in Ash's eyes and finally said "Ok. Fine. I understand, but don't try ignoring me in the future. You got that?" Ash agreed and the Casey gave him a tight hug. Ash rubbed her back while Casey was in a trance after feeling Ash's muscles against her body. Then she let Ash go when Ash asked her to let go and went near the tree to redo his uniform.

Chigusa was wide-eyed and stuttered after some time "You...you...you...are ASH KETCHUM - The winner of this year's Indigo league and Orange league. The same Ash Ketchum who is the trainer of the legendary Mew-duo. Right?" Ash groaned while Casey answered giggling "Of course. He is the same one, Chigusa. Who else do you think he could be after seeing the power of his pokemon?"

Chigusa shook her head and said "I should have guessed something like that. No wonder his Dragonair completely destroyed mine and Shiro's pokemons back to back." Then she looked at Kenzo and said "Thank you, grandpa for getting me a trainer as strong as him. They say he is very strong despite being so young." Ash heard it and asked "Hey. You two are Grandfather and granddaughter? Why was I not told?" Kenzo said that he didn't want anyone to think that he was only making Chigusa the Shihan because of her being his Granddaughter and so, hid it from everyone. Ash understood his sentiments and replied "I won't utter a word about it to anyone if you agree not to tell anyone about me being here until I left this place." Both parties agreed and soon Ash and Chigusa had their pokemons out. Chigusa chose Hitmontop while Ash chose Dragonair. They bowed to one another and started the match.

Kenzo was refereeing the match while Casey was watching from the sidelines. Chigusa battled Ash for an hour. Within the hour she had already lost fifteen times. Hitmontop was very tired while Dragonair was still in the air raring to go once more. Soon Kenzo sternly said "You have to improve Chigusa if you want to defeat Shiro today. If not I will declare Ash the new Shihan of the dojo." Ash bowed to Kenzo and said "I appreciate the offer, but I have to continue on my journey and hence, I won't be able to bear the responsibility. Besides you can't compare Chigusa and I. We have different styles and from what I have seen till now I would say she is improving gradually. So, let's have another match before we go for the breakfast. Okay?"

With that the final battle for the morning began.

Chigusa: "Hitmontop, use _Jump Kick_ "

Ash: "Dragonair, Dodge it and use _Wrap_ " Dragonair moved in the air and wrapped Hitmontop's abdomen once more.

Chigusa: "Use _Rapid Spin_ to free yourself. Then use everything you have in the _Triple Kick_ " Hitmontop started rotating an effectively freeing himself from Dragonair's hold. Then he used his three legs to kick Dragonair.

Ash: "Dragonair wait for the time and dodge the attacks. It will come more than once. Be on guard." Dragonair let out a small 'nair' and dodged the kick thrice perfectly. Then Ash ordered "Let's finish it. Use _Agility_ followed by your new move _Dragon Tail_ " Dragonair sped through the air and using the draconic energy surrounded his tail. The Hitmontop was hit with the STAB move and lost consciousness finally.

Kenzo announced Ash once more. Chigusa was a mess and started crying after seeing her fallen pokemon while Ash's barely fatigued Dragonair. Then she, Ash, Casey and Kenzo left to have the breakfast. During breakfast Chigusa askedAsh how did he know when to dodge? Ash admitted it was hard to say, but Kenzo sensed they were a team. Ash also agreed while Casey described about the importance of teamwork between a trainer and the pokemon in a pokemon battle. Kenzo told as long as they were not a team, Chigusa would never become a shihan. Chigusa fell to her knees and told Hitmontop that she was occupied how the move looked rather than worked and that's why they forgot about the teamwork. After that Casey, Ash and she trained for some more.

Soon it was afternoon. Shiro came again as promised the day before. Chigusa and Shiro continued their battle. Hitmonlee and Hitmontop punched each other. Hitmontop spun, so Hitmonlee used _Rolling Kick_ , but Hitmontop evaded following Chigusa's orders. Hitmonlee used _Double Kick_ , but could not hit the dodging Hitmontop. Hitmonlee used _Hi Jump Kick_ , but Hitmontop spun vertically, so Hitmonlee barely dodged. However, Hitmontop jumped and kicked Hitmonlee, defeating him finally. Shiro admitted he was not expecting this as he called Hitmonlee back and left the dojo saying the dojo was as good as the reputation proceeded. Chigusa hugged Hitmontop after the decisive win.

Before they could celebrate anymore Team Rocket arrived in a new meowth shaped machine and took Hitmontop away. Dragonair broke the robot's arm with Iron Tail and freed Hitmontop who landed near Chigusa, but Meowth released another to take Dragonair away. Hitmontop used Rapid Spin, reflecting the attack back to the robot. With a Thunderbolt from Pikachu Team Rocket blasted off once more. Chigusa apologised to Ash for the trouble they caused, but Ash said there was no actual trouble and he was used to their antics. After that Kenzo said "I am glad to see you are on your way to become stronger and I am happy that finally your teamwork clicked. I am glad to announce you the next Shihan of the dojo now." Ash and Casey congratulated Chigusa and her Grandpa on the success. After staying in the dojo for one more night, Ash and Casey left the dojo after an early breakfast next morning after bidding Kenzo and Chigusa goodbyes.

( _Scene Break_ )

It was a few hours since Ash and Casey left the dojo. Casey was asking Ash about his journey till then and Ash was telling her to the best of his abilities trying not to reveal much of his training methods. Soon the heroes found themselves in a hot jungle and found some Mankeys and Aipoms. Ash saw they were eating bananas and went to get them, but slipped on a banana peel and fell into the nearby lake. Casey visited him and saw him relaxing, since the water was warm. Later Ash dried his clothes. Ash proposed to be there for the day to relax, so sent his Pokémons excluding his legendary birds out of their pokeball. His Dragonair-duo and Spoink decide to play with a master ball lookalike toy. Tyranitar, Houndour and Numel decided to take sun-bath on the bank of the lake. Noctowl sat on a tree branch and watched Casey releasing her Bayleef, Electrabuzz, Pidgeotto, Raticate and Poliwhirl. Pidgeotto went to sit near Noctowl and they started chatting about something in bird language.

While Casey was discussing with Ash about various battle strategies, Spoink hit the ball hard causing Dragonair(M) to hit it with his tail. The ball hit the female Dragonair on its side causing the ball to be sent into the jungle. Spoink and the Dragonair-duo began to argue with each other. Pikachu heard it and informed Ash. Thanks to the empathetic link Ash had with his pokemons he was able to resolve the situation causing the trio to apologise each other. Then Ash asked them to go into the forest to get the ball while he was preparing lunch. The three of them agreed and went inside the forest in search of the ball.

Meanwhile Jessie, James and Meowth were in front of a nearby cave. They were distributing food among them while a wild Snorlax came and ate all the berries they had and fell asleep blocking the entrance of the cave. Spoink and the Dragonair-duo came to the other side of the cave in search of the ball and went inside it. Spoink used flash to light up the cave. They saw the ball inside and moved forward. Suddenly the roof of the cave shook and collapsed closing the way they had come in to be closed. So taking the ball with them the pokemon trio moved forward.

Ash had finished preparing lunch. When he saw Spoink and the Dragonair-duo not there, he became worried for them. So, asking Casey to look after the lunch he asked his pokemons to search for the trio. Houndour started following their smell and soon Ash, Pikachu, Tyranitar, Numel and Noctowl followed after Houndour and came near the collapsed cave entrance. Ash became worried. When Tyranitar prepared to make a Hyper beam Ash stopped her saying the move could completely destroy the roof further damaging the trio. So, they started to move along the cave while Noctowl was keeping an eye out through the air.

Spoink and the Dragonair-duo soon came to a stop when they saw something blocking their way. They started to tackle it and when found it to be soft they immediately knew it to be a pokemon. Then the Drgonair-duo decided to move the pokemon and using their tails started tickling its back which caused the pokemon to move out of the cave entrance. When they saw the pokemon, which they recognised as Snorlax move out giving away the path they came out of the cave and cheered loudly.

Their mood was spoilt though when the team rocket waiting outside caught them using a net. Spoink and the Dragonair-duo were enraged at that and started making loud noises. Then the Dragonair-duo used _Flamethrower_ and _Dragon Pulse_ on the net destroying it. The commotion woke the Snorlax up who looked angry. Meowth took the chance to manipulate Snorlax by explaining him that the sound which interrupted his nap was made by the Spoink and the Dragonair-duo. The Snorlax became even more angry and used _Mega Punch_ to blast off team rocket. Then it turned towards the Spoink and the Dragonair-duo preparing to fire an _Ice Beam_. Spoink and the Dragonair-duo were very tired to do anything after playing for so long and they didn't have any food to replenish their energy. So, when they saw the _Ice Beam_ materialising in front of Snorlax, they became afraid of getting hurt and closed their eyes. Before the Ice beam could be fired though, they heard a very familiar cry of "Tyranitar _Hyper Beam_. Pikachu use _Agility_ to go near them and use _Protect_ to save them from the Hyper Beam" The snorlax was not prepared for the sudden Hyper beam and fell unconscious as soon as the _Hyper Beam_ hit it behind its back.

Spoink and the Dragonair-duo cried out happily. Ash too hugged the three of them and said "Why didn't you three give me a mental cry?" When the three looked down Ash said "You remember how to do that. Right?" When he got no answer Ash sighed and said "Let's go and after lunch we will move forward. Tonight we are going to train in the mental cry. Especially you, Spoink. I am going to ask either Mew or MewTwo to help you train in your Psychic abilities. You are my only non-legendary psychic and I am not going to leave you alone. Okay?" After hearing Ash saying the words Spoink was overjoyed and Ash knew why. It was because every non-legendary in hi team thought it to be a privilege to be trained by their respective legendaries. So, it was no wonder for Spoink to be so happy after finally getting a chance to get trained under the legendary Mew-duo's tutelage.

Then Ash saw the fallen Snorlax. It was not as huge as his fifteen-foot behemoth of a Snorlax. It was a standard Snorlax, a bit taller than seven feet. After seeing the pokemon Ash scanned it with his pokemon and was informed _"This Snorlax is a female. It has the ability Thick Fat"_ Ash found the Snorlax a little under-nourished. So, throwing an ultra ball captured it. The unconscious Snorlax was captured after three shakes of pokeball. Ash had decided to use only Ultra balls for further capture of any new pokemons. He made the decision after some of his pokemons asked him to customise their pokeballs. So, Ash decided then and there that he would only use special balls like the ultra balls, Apricorn balls or if possible the luxury balls to make his pokemons feel better in the future. Ash then sent the Snorlax to Prof. Oak using the device Bill had given him. After that Ash and co. returned to the camp. After finishing lunch Ash put everything into his larger than average backpack and then he along with Casey left the place to continue their journey.

( _Scene Break_ )

After travelling all afternoon, Ash and Casey stopped near a lake to relax a bit because it was approaching dawn. Suddenly, Misty's Poliwhirl was approached by a Poliwrath, who knocked the former out. Casey was angry at that and asked why the Poliwrath hit her pokemon? The trainer introduced himself as Andreas and replied by mocking Casey's Poliwhirl as Poliweak. Then he went as far as saying that if it were any stronger then it would have evolved by then. Then an argument broke between him, Ash and Casey who all had different opinion about strong pokemons. So, Andreas asked them to compete against him, the undisputed champion of 'The Seaking Contest' the next day where every trainer had to capture a seaking and the trainer with the biggest Seaking would be declared as the WINNER. The Seaking would have to be released then though. All of them agreed at that. Andreas left Ash with a fuming Casey. After eating some food Casey left to train. Ash too left to train his pokemons for the next day as well as the 'mental cry'as promised earlier that day.

The next day Ash, Casey and Andreas gathered near the nearby lake where 'The Seaking Contest' was being organised. Everybody was given twenty special pokeballs which were called 'Lake Balls'. Then the contestants were asked to choose a spot for fishing where they were allowed to choose any kind of rod and lure they wanted. Then they were asked to choose their pokemon who would help them in catching their Seakings. Andreas chose Poliwrath. Casey chose poliwhirl while Ash chose his female Dragonair who was a bit longer than his male one, being eleven feet in length. Then the contest was announced.

Ash looked Dragonair in the eye and nodded his head slightly showing his faith in her. Dragonair went deep inside the lake in search of a Seaking. After training with Granados, vaporeon and other water types she had learnt how to find the toughest water pokemon- in this case Seaking- in the water. Ash threw his bait into the lake while waiting for his Dragonair to come out of it.

Soon it was announced that there were only ten minutes left for the match to end. Casey used her elctrabuzz bait to attract a huge Seaking which was knocked out by Poliwhirl's _Doubleslap._ Then Andreas too caught a big Seaking which fainted after being Mega Punched by Poliwrath. Both of them caught their respective fish pokemons with lake balls and brought them for weighing.

Soon the time was over and one by one every contestant weighed their pokemon. Andreas weighed his Seaking which weighed fifty five lbs. Everybody started whispering _"Looks like Andreas is going to win this year as well."_ and _"I don't think anyone can get a bigger Seaking than that"_ Casey tensed a bit after hearing such comments. Then she released her Seaking from the Lake ball for weighing. When the machine showed fifty five lbs as well, the other contestants astonished. Casey and Andreas glared each other. While rest of the contestants continued weighing their Seakings, the rest surrounded Casey and Andreas who challenged each other for a pokemon battle to choose the 'WINNER' of the contest.

Casey chose her Poliwhirl while Andreas used his Poliwrath. Soon the battle began with Poliwhirl using Doubleslap on Poliwrath. Poliwrath took the hits and countered with Mega punch which sent Poliwhirl tumbling. Then Andreas asked his Poliwrath to use Super power, but Poliwhirl dodged it and countered with Brine which hit Poliwrath from behind immediately sending it into unconscious. Casey cheered for her Poliwhirl and Andreas apologised to Casey for calling her Pokémon wimps earlier. Casey decided to forgive him. Both of them shook hands, but before they could congratulate each other the announcer declared "After evaluating all the Seakings today, the judges have decided the winner for today's contest. So, give a huge round of applause for today's winner - " Casey was about to go forward, but the announcer declared "With a Seaking of whooping hundred lbs Mr. Ash." Casey and Andreas were flabbergasted seeing the huge Seaking which was almost double the size of their seakings. Andreas commented to Casey "I guess none of us were able to catch the biggest Seaking. Well it was nice meeting you though. Again I would like to apologise" With that Andreas left the area, not waiting to say good bye to Ash either. After sometime, Ash came with a trophy and certificate as proof of winning the contest. Then he looked at Casey and said "Well it was a nice contest and I saw the way you and Andreas solved the issue between you two. I liked that. Now that I won the contest, let's continue on our way or do you have some other errands?"

Casey nodded in negative showing that she was ready to move again. She asked Ash "Wait Ash. The winner was supposed to win chocolate for one year. Right? So, where that? I am not seeing any chocolate with you." Ash smiled under his mask and answered "No, they had said the truth and I received the chocolates as well" Then he took two large chocolate bars from his back pack and handed them over to Casey "I kept the two for you and asked them to send the rest of the chocolates to mom. They agreed and so, I didn't have to carry that much chocolate. My mom would be happy after seeing so many chocolates though." Then Casey and Ash continued on their journey towards Ecruteak city.

( _Scene Break_ )

Ash and Casey continued walking and after a couple of hours arrived in a nearby city named Bonitaville. There they stopped to have some lunch in the pokemon centre. After lunch Ash went to the video call booth and dialled Prof. Oak's number. Soon someone picked the call.

Unknown person: "Hello. This is Oak corral. How may I help you?"

Ash: "May I speak to Prof. Oak?"

Unknown person: "Sorry, Sir. Prof. Oak is doing some research. Please call after a couple of hours."

Ash: "Wait. Just tell him 'Ash is on call' and-" before Ash could continue the video camera was switched on and a very familiar face looked straight at Ash's face from the other side. Ash blinked twice in surprise. Then a big smile came on his mouth under the mask. He said "Hey Brock. What are you doing in pallet?"

Brock: "Long time no see Ash. I got some free time for a couple of days. So, I decided to visit pallet for some peaceful time with Mrs Ketchum, Prof. Oak, Tracey and of course with a olot of pokemon. Where are you by the way? How is it going in Johto?"

Ash: "I am doing well Brock. I am on my way to Ecruteak after winning my third Johto badge in Golden-Rod city. Right now I am in Bonitaville where I just finished my lunch and came to greet Professor."

Brock: "Really? What a coincidence. Just a couple of hours ago I got a mail from one of my childhood friends, Suzie. She is in Bonitaville too. Actually she asked me to give her one of my pokemons, but because of some repair work in the pokemon central server in Kanto, all international transfers are put on hold for a weak. Now that you are there could you please give her one of your pokemon for the contest?"

Ash: "Oh. Before giving someone my pokemon, I would like to ask about the type of contest you are speaking about?" Ash was sceptical about giving someone else his pokemon. Brock knew it and hence clarified Ash's doubts.

Brock: "It's not a battle Ash. So, you just chill. This is actually a beauty contest. Szie had asked me to lend her Vulpix, but due to the transfer issues I am unable to help her. So, please provide her with one of your Ninetales"

Ash: "Fine, but I will stay with her throughout the contest." Ash could not decline Brock's request and with a mental command asked MewTwo to teleport his Ninetales( _Female_ ) to his location. As there was no pokeball transferred, Ash got his Ninetales who suddenly pounced on Ash from behind. An invisible MewTwo gave Ash a mental command before returning to New Island to continue his training or to do whatever he wanted.

Brock: "Wow. She looks even more beautiful than she was during the Indigo league. Please give Suzie my regards. I am calling her now so that when you reach there, she would recognise you. I am sorry you could not talk to Prof. As soon as he became free; I will tell him to call you. By the way, this new dress looks very good on you."

Ash: "No Problem Brock. Anything for you. I will call Prof. Oak later. It was nothing important anyway. Bye for now" With that Ash hung up his phone. Ash was thankful that he was in his complete attire or the girls who were giving him some weird look _(According to him),_ would have jumped on him. Casey was nowhere to be seen. So, Ash left with his Ninetales to find Suzie.

(Suzie's Salon)

There was a green haired girl with creamy skin colour attending to some trainers' pokemons when Ash entered into the salon. The doorbell rang signalling someone had entered into the shop and the girl turned around. Her eye fell on a guy wearing very stylish attire and looking at her.

Girl: "Yes, welcome to Suzie's salon, Sir. How may I help you?"

Ash: "Are you Suzie, Brock's friend?"

Girl(smiled): "So, Brock-o was talking about you. You are Ash, right?"

Ash: "Yeah. So, I am on the right address" He thought _"Thank god Brock didn't tell her my full name or I would have had to answer a lot of questions"._ Then he entered fully into the salon, but Suzie's eyes fell on the very beautiful Ninetales following Ash. The Ninetales was so beautiful that she could not stop herself from squealing with joy.

Suzie: "So, Brock was talking about this Ninetales? She is so adorable. It's a SHE, right?"

Ash: "Yeah, she is quite the beautiful creature. I hope Brock has informed you about my condition. Right?"

Suzie: "Yes, he has certainly and I don't have any objections with you following me all around the contest arena with Ninetales." She sat down and started to examine Ninetales closely. When she finished examining her she said "Wow. In my entire career as a pokemon stylist I have never seen such a magnificent Ninetales. Her coat is so soft. Her fur is very light in colour and long showing that she is well groomed. She is approx. Four feet in height showing that she is bigger than an average Ninetales as well as perfectly fed and conditioned. You are very lucky to have such a wonderful pokemon"

Ash: "Yes, I am very lucky to have her." Ash replied slowly caressing the underside of Ninetales' jaw at which she became putty in his hands.

Then both Suzie and Ash left the salon and started going towards the main competition hall. On the way they met with another beautician named Zane who also had a Ninetales. From the talks between Zane and Suzie Ash could understand that they knew each other quite well. When Suzie later informed him about the differences of opinion for which they beautify their pokemons in their respective ways and the contest was like a decider for whose way was superior, Ash understood about the rivalry. It reminded him of the fierce rivalry between him and Gary Oak. So, Ash decided to keep quiet.

Then Ash met up with Casey at the entrance of the contest hall. She informed Ash that she was training her pokemons and after training was over she came to know from nurse joy that Ash was leaving for the contest hall. So, she was waiting for him at the hall entrance. Then she took her place in the audience because in the contest no more than two contestants were allowed for one pokemon. Ash and Suzie went for registration as well.

The contest started soon and Casey read Suzie was number 37 and Zane was after her. Ash told Suzie they might have a greater chance at winning since they were a team and Suzie hoped that was the case. The first contestant went to the stage with Marill, but got captured on his way by the team rocket who took his place in disguise. Then they took the first place to enter the contest with Meowth and performed by artificially giving Meowth make-up who started performing to impress the people and judges. The audience anticipated it and Team Rocket (disguised) continued showing off their Pokémon. The audience liked them and so did Zane, who got a handshake from Jessie stating she liked his thought process _'Pokemon could only have their beauty enhanced externally'_. The hero and co. admitted it was weird and funny about them. Zane thought they were unique and Team Rocket was grateful for those words. They believed a gross-looking Pokémon could have its appearance improved, so Brock began thinking if Onix could be improved. Suddenly, Officer Jenny and the captured contestant came and accused Jessie and James stating that they were frauds because they locked up the #1 contestant in a closet and took his place. Jessie and James told they did that, since they were number 259 and it would have taken ages for their turn to come. Jenny yelled at them. She asked them to get out of there and kicked them out of the contest.

Ash and Suzie shook their heads and started waiting for their turn to come. Outside Team rocket were cooking another disastrous plan. The contest continued well after that. The audience were applauding the shows and beautiful pokemons. Suddenly, Jessie and James appeared as doctors and convinced everyone including judges, the law officials and audience that the Pokémon needed examination. They lined up the Pokémons and disallowed breeders to come after (telling they will be disqualified) and closed the door. Jessie and James were pleased, since Meowth made the plan to capture the Pokémon.

The audience was troubled, since the Contest stopped abruptly. Zane saw the door was locked and tried opening it, but was unsuccessful. Ash thought the whole doctor thing to be fishy and ordered his Ninetales to use _Flamethrower_ on the door. The red hot flame was so huge and hot that it completely melted the doors and opened up a hole through the wall. This allowed everyone to see Team Rocket flying away with the Pokémons in their balloon. Trainers sent out different pokemons to attack, but the balloon was out of their reach. So, Ash sent Noctowl, who pierced the balloon using _Steel Wing_ , causing it to fall down. Ninetales used a low powered _Fire Fang_ , melting the lock. That caused the locked up pokemons to get free. Jessie sent Arbok and James sent Victreebel to recapture the pokemons. Victreebel used _Razor Leaf_ , but got burned by a Flamethrower from Zane's Ninetales. Suzie and Zane thought they need to teach the thugs that 'Stealing Is a Disgrace'. Jessie ordered Arbok to attack, but the snake pokemon ended up with the others, being blasted off by Vulpix and Ninetales' combined _Fire Spin_. Then Ash ordered his Ninetails to blast them off with a very powerful _Fire Blast_ from Ninatales.

Soon the competition resumed from where it stopped before the Team rocket fiasco. Zane came and admitted fighting against Team Rocket made him realize 'Team Work Is Important'. He proposed that they should work together. Suzie was in a bit of dilemma. So, she asked Ash for his opinion and he supported the idea, Ash explained to both Suzie and Zane that they could make the Pokémon be beautiful from both inside and outside. So why settle for only one option? After all a pokemon needed every kind of grooming it needed, be it external or internal. So, Suzie thanked Ash for his advice and agreed to open a beauty salon with Zane as well.

Soon the judges started visiting different pokemon stylists and their pokemons. After a couple of hour the result came out. The announcer announced "It was a wonderful evening ladies and gentlemen. The contest of this year was like a roller-coaster ride with lots of adventure throughout its course, but everything has to come to an end. So, we are here to know about the winner of the pokemon beauty contest this year" Then he opened the closed envelope and announced excitingly "Wow. Ladies and gentlemen, this year we have not one, but two winners. This is the first time in the contest history that the judges were unable to decide upon a clear-cut winner. So, without further adieu I would love to ask the judges to come up the stage to hand over the Trophy to the winners."

The audience were waiting with baited breathes to know about the winners. The announcer broke their anxiety and declared "The winner of the 'Pokemon Beauty contest year –xxxx' are contestants number thirty seven and thirty eight, pokemon-beauticians Miss Suzie and Mr. Zane. Give a huge round of applause for them" Suzie and Zane went upstairs to lift the Trophy. Then they shook their hands and congratulated each other. Before the audience and judges could leave though Ash talked something with Zane and they said something to the announcer which made the announcer even more excited. The reason for the excitement was revealed when he announced over the mike "Dear audience. We came here tonight to enjoy a marvellous beauty contest, but our two winners have decided that the night won't be over without a pokemon battle between the two winning pokemon. So, fasten up your seat belts folks to finish the night with a bang. Please welcome Mr. Zane with his Ninetales and the trainer of the Ninetales stylised by Miss Suzie, Mr. Ash." Soon judges took their places and audience settled in theirs as well. On the stage, in the two opposing sides were Zane and Ash (Suzie standing with him as well) ordered both of their Ninetales to prepare for the battle. Both the fire-fox and vixen stood on their legs.

Zane: "Let's see whose pokemon wins Suzie. Yours or Mine? This will further help us to settle our differences before setting up the salon."

Suzie: "Deal, but don't come crying when you get defeated by the inner power of Ninetales. I have complete faith in Ash"

The announcer announced "This is an exhibition pokemon match between Mr. Zane and Mr. Ash. As the trainers have chosen their pokemon, the battle may commence" As soon as the words left announcer, both trainers issued their commands.

Zane: "Ninetales, use _Ember_ " Zane's Ninetales which was of average height and looked healthy fired the low powered fire type attack which hit Ash's Ninetales, but didn't hurt it rather she glowed a bit showing that her _Flash Fire_ ability was active. Zane thought _"Oh man. I forgot that Ninetales do have Flash Fire ability. Now I can't use any fire type moves."_

Ash(Thinking): _"I was right to think that most of the beauticians tend to simply beautify their pokemons rather than training them and increasing their inner beauty as well. That Ninetales is already panting showing that despite looking very healthy from outside it is actually not physically conditioned very well. There is no point in dragging this battle. Still lt me give hinm another chance."_

Zane: "Ninetales, now use _Hyper Beam_ " The Ninetales began charging the very powerful normal type move. Zane was hopeful that the move will do some damage.

Ash(To Zane): "Your Ninetales is good looking Zane. Congratulations for that, but sadly you forgot an important aspect while beautifying your Ninetales and that is physical conditioning. That is the reason why your pokemon is already fatigued. The _Hyper Beam_ is taking way too much time to charge up. I am sorry to say as it may sound arrogant, but if it were a professional league battle, then your pokemon would have been down for count already"

Zane showed maturity and nodded at the comments. The judges and audience too listened with rapt attention about the pointers Ash was providing.

Zane: "I know Ash. So, let's finish the battle. Ninetales fire the _Hyper Beam_ " The average looking energy beam left like a rocket.

Ash: "Let's show them how to do it. Ninetales, use _Protect_. Then fire your own _Hyper Beam_ " When the incoming beam was just about to crash Ash's Ninetales erected the golden dome of Protect. The judges and audience were amazed seeing a move like hyper beam getting stopped by a supposed low level Protect. As soon as the power behind hyper Beam dwindled, an energy beam of same colour left from Ash's Ninetales. The concentrated energy was at least thrice the size of the former hyper beam and raced at breakneck speed towards Zane's Ninetales showing the power behind it to propel it like that. Within a blink of an eye, the Hyper beam hit Zane's Ninetales which was inside a Protect after being ordered by Zane to use it, but sadly the hyper beam it was facing was way above its league and hit the Ninetales after piercing the protect like a hot rod through glass creating a loud 'BOOM'. When the smoke cleared after a while everyone could see Zane's Ninetales with scorched fur and swirl for eyes, while Ash's Ninetales didn't even looked fazed.

Everybody was astonished the huge power difference between two pokemons of same species. The announcer announced "Zane's Ninetales is unable to battle. So, the winner is Ash and Suzie" Everybody clapped at the wonderful battle. Some of the people also hollered loudly with joy seeing such a wonderful match. Soon Zane, Suzie, Casey and Ash left the stadium to have dinner after such a adventurous evening.

Zane invited everybody to his room in a hotel for dinner. He wanted to thank Ash and Suzie for the help they provided. Ash was not very keen on the idea at first, but after Casey and Suzie requested him with the dreaded _'Puppy-dog eyes'_ , he dropped every resistance and went with them. Zane's room was very bug and everybody seated quite comfortably and ordered dinner through Room service.

Then they started discussing about various topics regarding pokemon and their achievements till then. Ash and Casey came to know that Zane was a pretty successful beautician as well as Suzie. Both of them were into the business for more than half a decade and had plenty of clients all over the regions who wanted only one of them to groom their pokemons. Casey was impressed while Ash congratulated them.

Suzie: "That's all from us. We have won the Kanto/Johto beauty contest twice each including this one which is probably our greatest achievements till now."

Zane: "I also think that and now that we are planning a merger of business, we will get a lot more business. Thanks to you Ash, we have come up with a plan to beautify a pokemon from internally as well as externally, which will catch a lot of attention in poke-fashion world."

Casey: "That's so...so...so...Wow. I hope one day you could give a look at my pokemons with some discount"

Suzie: "Of course Casey. You and Ash can come any time to our beauty salon."

Casey: "Thanks. Now that we have known you, could you explain what new type of pokemon or people do you both want as your customer?" She asked curiously.

Zane: "Good one, Casey. Trying to know our ambitions and future plans are we? Should we tell them Suzie?"

Suzie: "Oh stop that, Zane. Don't listen to himCasey. He is just pulling legs. To answer your question, actually there are some pokemons and people those we would love to have as out customers."

Casey: "Really?"

Suzie(nodded positively): "Yeah. Actually we want to beautify the pokemons of some of the ELITE trainers from each region. Both of us had our only chance to look and touch one of their pokemons and seriously those pokemons are still one of the best we have seen in our entire career."

Casey: "Oh, really? Can you please tell me whose pokemon was it?"

Zane: "It was last year actually and that too in a contest in Johto. The pokemon was a Slobro and it belonged to the elite four Lorelei. That day we came to know about the difference between a normal pokemon and a well trained pokemon. The slobro's internal power that is health was the best till then according to Suzie and its external skin tone, coat, tail, physical fitness was something I had never seen before." Zane explained like a fan-girl.

Suzie: "I agree. I wanted to spend some more time with the Slobro, but sadly Lorelei had to leave. From that day onwards both of us started having dreams of beautifying one of those ELITE pokemons, but sadly the trainers of that level hardly believe in beautifying their pokemon. Now we know why? It is clear after seeing your Ninetales completely decimating Zane's that the stronger trainers don't need it because the physical conditioning as well as food and grooming they provide their pokemon automatically brings out their inner beauty. The care they provide also enhances their pokemons' outer beauty. I understand that, but still I wish if I could have a look at one of the pokemons of either a regional or conference champion. It would be much better than artificially beatifying the rich clients' weak pokemons." At that ash coughed a little bit and adjusted his mask some more.

Casey (looking at Ash with a mischievous smile): "I know that. Trust me I have battled against a two time conference winner and he was no joke. None of my pokemons could even faze one of his pokemon. It was so embarrassing. I want to defeat at least one of his pokemons some day."

Zane: "Seriously? You have battled a two time league winner. Then he must be strong. Now-a-days very few trainers have the title of being a 'two time conference winner' and you could count them with your fingers. So, your dream is to battle him?"

Casey: "Yeah and to compete in this year's silver conference. I started y journey this year only and want to gain some experience like Ash here." Then she looked at Ash again with the same smile. Suzie and Zane too looked at Ash who suddenly became silent after the conversation began.

Suzie: "Hmm. That's right, Ash. You never told us anything about you, your exploits or even your full name. Now that I think, Brock was saying that you are a very successful trainer yourself and reflects in the ability your Ninetales has. Is she your strongest?" When Ash didn't say anything then Casey and Zane joined in.

Casey (With a smile full of mischief and giggling lightly): "Yeah, Ash. Tell her. We would love to know some of your adventures."

Zane: "After seeing the Ninetales you have, I am sure that you are a very strong trainer. Even if you have not won any league, still don't be shy with us. It's not embarrassing to lose a league battle. We won't laugh we promise. Please tell something more about yourself." With that three pair of eyes was on Ash.

Ash was groaning mentally _"Oh why? I should have guessed this was coming the moment Casey was giving those bad-omens like smiles. Well, let me tell them yes and be on my way. Thank Arceus that Pikachu is still sleeping in the back pack after the intense training I put him through"_ The thought went to gutter when the yellow rodent suddenly came and perched on Ash's lap yawning a cute _'PIKA'_ Ash thought _"Nice timing Pikachu. Now I have to explain everything to them."_

The girls of the group squealed at the display. Zane on the other hand was thinking _"That Pikachu looks even stronger than his Ninetales. It looks like a well battled veteran Pikachu."_ Suzie picked Pikachu with both her hands to examine it. As soon as she ran her fingers through Pikachu's fur, he got Goosebumps and her hair straightened as well showing the strong electricity the Pikachu had with the control over it too. Otherwise she would have been electrocuted. Then she pressed her fingers a bit more and came in contact with the strong lean stone like muscles the Pikachu had.

Suzie: "Such a strong Pikachu. I have seen plenty of Pikachus in my career, but this Pikachu of yours is in a league of its own. The fur, the electricity flowing through its body and especially the tight muscles in its body is something I have never seen in another Pikachu and I have seen well trained Pikachus before.

Zane: "From the external view only, I can say it is way more powerful than your Ninetales. This pokemon reminds me of Lorelei's Slobro, which is a compliment for any pokemon trainer. I am definitely impressed. So, please Ash tell us about your adventures"

Suzie: "Yeah, please tell us. Here, take your Pikachu" She handed Pikachu to Ash, but instead of sitting on his lap, Pikachu jumped onto Ash's shoulder and perched on his shoulder. Now the thing was there were not many trainers who carried a Pikachu like that. After Ash won the two leagues, it was becoming viral among trainers as a style to let their smaller pokemons out and Suzie was no fool. She immediately recognised the gesture. Before she could say anything...

Zane: "Now that I look closely, the gesture resembles a lot with the recently crowned Indigo and Orange league Winner from Kanto. This style became viral as soon as the trainer won the leagues. Lately we are getting a lot of requests from our clients seeking our help in deciding which pokemon they should use to show off their style. Are you one of his fans, Ash...?" Then he trailed off and narrowed his eyes. He said "I never put a lot of thought, but **Ash** is not a very common name and lately there has been only one Ash all over the news. After looking at the Pikachu on the shoulder I am getting even more resemblance. So, please take off your masks and introduce yourself."

Suzie (surprised at Zane's behaviour): "Don't behave with him like that, Zane." She reprimanded him, but then something clicked her mind and she looked Ash closely and said "But he has a point. Now that I am looking closely I too am getting suspicious. So, please clear our doubts, Ash"

Casey: "There is no point in hiding anymore Ash. The rabbit is out of the hat. So, please take off your disguise." Zane and Suzie looked at her as if asking something to which she replied "Don't worry. Once he takes off his cover everything will be crystal-clear."

Ash (Sighing): "I guess you are right Casey." Saying this he stood up at his full height of slightly more than five feet (Thanks to all the training he was doing with hi pokemons) which was quite impressive for a soon to be twelve year old. Then he took out his Bandana freeing his unruly indigo hair. Then he took off his glasses revealing black eyes. This much was enough to make Suzie and Zane more suspicious and they too stood up to clear their doubts. Finally when Ash lowered his mask after unzipping his collar of the jacket, everybody could see the handsome face with the trademark 'z' like marks on his cheeks.

The room suddenly became silent. Then Ash smiled and said "Hello". Suzie and Zane both were wide eyed immediately recognising him. Before they could utter a word Casey joyously said "So, everything is clarified now, right? If there is still any doubt, let me clarify it. Say hello to Mr. Ash Ketchum." Then she started giggling when Zane's mouth hit the floor at the confirmation and Suzie fell back onto her sofa unable to digest the truth.

Zane: "Are you the same Ash Ketchum who has been on news recently? The same one who is regarded by many as 'The Golden Boy of Kanto'? The same young prodigy, who owns the legendary 'Mew Duo'?"

Casey: "Yes, the one and only Ash Ketchum. So, do you have any other queries?"

Suzie (Squealing): "Oh my Arceus. Oh my Arceus. I still can't believe I am with THE Ash Ketchum. You never said it before. Brock never told me you were this successful. I will have to give him some talk later for that. I have seen some of your matches and I loved the way your pokemons battled. All of them were impressive. So, the Ninetales you used is the same one used in Indigo league?

Ash: "Yes, she is the same one. One more thing is that she is not my strongest pokemon" Ash replied sheepishly.

Suzie (Sarcastic): "Of course she is not. When you have pokemons like the legendary 'Mew-duo', then how a Ninetales could be your strongest, right?"

Ash: "It's not like that. I love my pokemons immensely and they train with all their hearts. Let's just drop the topic and talk about something else."

Zane: "So, tell us Ash why this entire disguise? You could have got a lot more privilege had you appeared like this? People love you, Ash. Besides we would have gained some more pointers for getting a league winner's pokemon for the showcase and not any winner, but the famous ' _Golden Boy of Kanto'_ at that. I won't have to be humiliated in front of so many people by fighting you" Zane sulked saying that last part.

Ash: "Exactly, my point. I could have gained all that, but at the cost of my privacy. I love my privacy, the alone time I get to spend with my pokemons and I don't want to give that up for any price. The second point is I want my opponents to battle at full strength even if they have a snowball in hell of a chance to win. Just imagine, what will happen if someone challenging me finds out my real identity?"

Casey: "Then he/she won't battle you at full strength or rather won't be able to thinking even if you lost one pokemon then you will call upon the 'mew-duo' and decimate your opponent."

Ash: "Exactly and I don't like mind games unless it's necessary. I want my opponents to be at full strength." Suzie, Casey and Zane were impresses by Ash's honesty and his will to fight strong opponents.

Suzie: "All points aside Ash. Now I want to request you to let us see the legendary 'Mew-duo'. Please... please...please" Casey and Zane too looked at Ash with hopeful eyes.

Ash: "On one condition that you won't tell anyone that I was here at least for a month after my departure tomorrow. Am I getting a deal?"

Suzie and Zane didn't think anymore and vigorously nodded their heads saying "Our mouths are sealed, Ash. You don't have to worry. Now please let us see one"

Ash connected with MewTwo Psychically and said _"Striker, do you hear me?"_ MewTwo replied worriedly " _Yes, Ash. Why have you called so late? Is everything alright?"_ Ash replied _"Yes, Striker. Everything is alright. I just wanted you to inform Princess to come here. Could you do that?"_ MewTwo replied _"Of course it would be done, but may I know the reason"_ Ash described everything about the request from Zane and Suzie as well as getting caught despite the disguise and said _"So, now did you understand? They are beauticians and Princess loves these things more than you. Besides you still don't like being touched by another human other than me which I respect. Hence, Princess is the obvious choice. I hope you won't mind"_ MewTwo smiled mentally and replied _"Thanks Ash for understanding my emotions and insecurities. Pricess will be there soon"_

Suzie and Zane were looking at Ash who was meditating. As soon as Ash opened his eyes they were upon him to ask questions, but before they could say anything a pink feline creature of slender build materialised out of nowhere with a loud cry of 'MEW'. Suzie, Zane and Casey were enchanted seeing the mirage pokemon. So, when she crashed straight into Ash's chest hugging him tightly and Ash replied "My Princess. It's so good to see you again", they could not stop and raced too grab mew. Mew didn't like being interrupted while hugging her trainer and using Psychic lifted both the beauticians off the field. This caused Ash to sweatdrop and Casey was on floor laughing loudly which was not very lady-like. Then Ash described Mew everything and she let the beauticians to touch her after dropping them on their butts. Zane and Suzie immediately began examining her beauty while Ash and Casey were having their dinner.

Suzie: "Wow such a healthy pokemon. I have seen her before, but now when I saw her in person I think she has become even healthier than before."

Zane: "Her fur is soft, but the muscles are lean and strong t the same time giving off an absolute beauty."

Suzie: "She is very friendly which shows that she is very well treated as well. I would go as far of saying that 'She is an absolute pinnacle of combination of internal and external beauty"

The discussions continued till midnight when Suzie and Zane finally were out of their anxiety and said bye to Mew. Then Ash left with Mew into his room to have some sleep. The next morning before leaving Ash asked Mew "So, princess your training is going very well. I want you to take Ninetales and leave for New Island. You can do that, right?" Mew nodded and after giving Ash a final hug, teleported with Ninetales (Who Ash gave a hug making her coo) to New Island.

Then Ash and Casey bid Suzie and Zane goodbyes before continuing on their way to Ecruteak city. Ash had redone his disguise and his huge back pack, which was full of items, was on his back once again. Thus a new day in Ash Ketchum's life began.

[Chapter End]

 **A/N:** **ASH's on hand team(Max capacity 13):**

 _Pikachu, Dragonair (1M, 1F)_

 _Tyranitar, Numel, Spoink,_

 _Lead Houndour, Noctowl, Combee_

 _Articuno, Moultress, Zapdos._

 **A/N 2:** Another chapter done. In this chapter I have made some changes which go parallel with the anime at the same time taking a different way. So, expect these kinds of changes in future. I love pokemon fights and hence I will try to put at least one fight per chapter. So, be with me. See you after next chapter.


	8. Chapter 8: Ep 34 - From old rival to new

**A/N:** This is a continuation of the story "Chronicles of the chosen one: Pokemon Master" by Nateman364 . I loved the story so much that after it was put on Permanent Hiatus I decided the story deserves at least a finish of the Johto Journeys. So, I tried to contact the Author but could not get a reply. So I continued the Johto journeys. I want to complete at least the Johto journeys. So, before reading the story read the story by Nateman364. The link to the story is s/8033836/1/COTCHO-PM-Permanent-Hiatus. Then I want to declare that I DO NOT OWN POKEMON BUT THE IDEA FROM HERE ON IS MINE, SOME OF WHICH ARE INFLUENCED BY SOME OF THE STORIES I HAVE READ. So, let's continue with the story.

 **Ep 34** **–** **From old rival to new opponent**

Casey and Ash were going through a route towards Ecruteak, while Case was blabbering about her favourite Electrabuzz baseball team. It was almost time for a late breakfast. So, Ash and Casey stopped to eat their breakfast. This time Ash released all of his pokemon and Casey helped him in making the breakfast. Soon everybody had their breakfast. Casey went to some distance with her pokemons for some training while Ash instructed his pokemons to relax a bit after taking food and he sat under a tree to relax some more. He started reading something. Then suddenly something stuck his mind and he dialled Prof. Oak's number using the device Bill had given him. After ringing for some time Prof. Oak picked the call. Ash could see his dishevelled condition.

Oak: "Hello, Oak Ranch. Who is it calling?"

Ash: "Hello Professor. It's Ash. Could you please switch on your camera feature so that we could talk face to face? I am not able to see you. Perhaps you have not switched on the feature yet." Ash heard a button being clicked.

Oak: "Hello Ash. So, how is your journey going?"

Ash: "Going well professor. I am on my way to Ecruteak to win my fourth badge. I am resting now. So I thought to call you. I can see you are doing well too. Muk's still giving you a lot of problems, eh?"

Oak: "You know him, Ash. He has trained very hard Ash and wants to battle. I think you should give him a chance soon."

Ash: "Sure Prof. So, how is mom doing and how the projects I had requested are developing?"

Oak: "Delia is fine. What can happen when four dogs are guarding her twenty four seven? Your projects are developing quite well. Almost eighty percent work is done. You just need to sign the papers when you come. I will tell you when that time comes. You don't worry. Focus on your pokemons and the silver conference. The projector is ready as well. What to do next, Ash?"

Ash: "Good to hear that everything is going fluidly. Keep the projector for now with you. I will come to take it personally once I won the badges first. One more thing Professor, did mom receive the chocolates?"

Oak (Smiling): "Oh yes of course. She definitely received and was very happy with the amount she received. She was blabbering something like _'I won't have to buy chocolate for quite some time now'._ Your pokemons, Tracey and I have been eating chocolate muffins, cup cakes, Pastries and chocolate shakes since those arrived."

Ash (Sweatdropped): "Oh. At least someone is enjoying them. Okay then professor. I will call you as soon as I got some more time. Bye"

With that Ash hung up his device. When he looked up he saw Casey looking at him curiously as if enquiring about the high-tech device. Ash showed her the device and described her how he received it as a reward from the famous Bill. Casey was even more impressed by that story. Soon they started packing, but stopped when they heard the sound of battling. With the help of Pikachu's long ear, Ash and Casey reached towards a clearing where Ash saw two trainers battling. Casey was about to go, but Ash stopped her. Then he explained that they should wait for the battle to end first. He also asked her to watch the match closely because one of the trainers was Gary Oak, his old rival, but a good trainer. Then he explained her not to introduce him with Gary, but to let him be anonymous. Then they started watching the match behind the bushes.

Gary was using Umbreon and ordered to study the attacks of his opponent, a teenage boy's Alakazam. Alakazam started with _Zap Cannon_ , but Umbreon jumped and dodged. Alakazam used _Psychic_ , but since Umbreon is a Dark-type Pokémon, it had no effect, so it used _Headbutt_. Umbreon evaded and used _Tackle_ on Alakazam. Alakazam attempted to hit with _Dynamic Punch_ , but missed due to Umbreon's _Agility_. Alakazam used _Double Team_ , making copies of it. Gary admitted it was a good move, so warned Umbreon not to be fooled. The Alakazam struck, so Umbreon jumped and using _Faint Attack_ hit the real Alakazam. Umbreon used _Quick Attack_ , though Alakazam _Teleport_ ed away dodging it. Alakazam used _Hyper Beam_ , though Gary managed to warn Umbreon in time, enough for it to jump. Using _Hidden Power_ , Umbreon finally defeated Alakazam. The boy left after the battle.

Ash still in his disguise came out clapping with both hands. Casey too came out and challenged Gary, but Gary declined by saying he needed to treat his pokemon at nearby pokemon centre. Casey huffed at that comment. After not recognising Ash in his disguise Gary shook hands with him and left as well.

Ash was about to leave the pokemon centre after receiving his completely healed pokemons. Suddenly, the lights went out and Joy tried to contact the power plant, but didn't receive any answer. She was worried as the medical equipments were run on electricity, which was gone. Ash along with Casey assured nurse joy and went to the power plant to see what was wrong. As Gary was feeding Umbreon, he saw the city was out of power and thought it was a blackout. Then he saw the masked trainer (Ash) and the girl who challenged him earlier were running somewhere. The reason was Team Rocket (Jessie, James and Meowth), who had wired their machine and were powering it with electricity from the power plant. They started the machine and went to the Pokémon Center. James and Meowth saw it was going well, but Jessie warned them not to be overconfident. They saw Ash, Casey as well as Gary approaching. So Jessie thought it was a lucky day, indeed. The heroes encountered some workers, who were tied up, and went to free them, but were stopped by Team Rocket's machine, called as Robo-Mecha Wobbuffet. Team Rocket announced that they would capture Pikachu, since they would reflect any attack and it would go into the machine. Pikachu used _Thunderbolt_ , but it went in the machine and reflected towards Ash and co with a greater power. The heroes began to run away as the machine followed them. Casey sent her Poliwhirl and Raticate. They all used _Water Gun_ , but the machine absorbed the power behind the moves and fired back with greater power.

Casey was about to give up and Ash was about to call out his big guns, but suddenly Gary's Umbreon appeared and _Tackle_ d the cord. This caused the cord to disconnect and the machine team rocket was using stopped abruptly. Ash, Casey and Gary went to rescue the workers, while Jessie had another plan, even if the machine was out of power. The workers were grateful, but were unsure how to bring the power to the city. One of the workers suggested to use a secondary dam and Gary went away. Ash followed him, but was stopped by Team Rocket's machine. This was due to Meowth and James paddling to power the machine up. The robot struck, although team rocket missed Ash and Pikachu. The machine went to kick, but stopped, since Meowth and James were exhausted. Pikachu used _Thunderbolt_ again to electrocute Team Rocket, but powered their machine up as well. Ash sent his Numel and Casey sent her Chikorita. Numel used _Flamethrower_ , which the machine absorbed. Chikorita used _Vine Whip_ and the machine went to absorb that as well, but the Vine Whip closed the gates that absorb attacks. Jessie saw that the gates were not open and panicked because the second _Flamethrower_ would burn the machine inside out. Soon the powerful Flamethrower used by Numel hit the Robot. Due to this, the temperature rose up inside the machine and the robot exploded, causing Team Rocket to blast off.

After that the workers helped the dam to work by fixing a part in it. The workers saw the dam was working, but the electricity did not go to the city, as it needed a jolt to power it on. So, Pikachu was attached some wires and used _Thunderbolt_ , letting the power flow. The workers who were sceptical at first for using a pokemon started to jump in joy and thanked Ash immensely. Ash also thanked Gary for assistance, who left the place saying that they would meet in silver conference for sure as after seeing his pokemons Gary was sure that he was a good trainer. Ash bid the place farewell after having lunch at the pokemon centre along with Casey.

( _Scene Break_ )

Ash and Casey were inside the pokemon centre to book a room for a couple of hours to rest. Casey was talking to the nurse joy about it, when Ash saw a Chansey much smaller than the regular ones appear from behind. He immediately thought something was fishy and asked the nurse joy to explain about it because in the morning he had seen a perfectly normal chansey.

The nurse joy giggled and came out of her disguise. As soon as Ash saw her, he asked "Duplica, is that you?" Duplica blinked twice and looked at Ash thinking _"How does he know me? He is quite the killer though. That outfit on his body looks absolutely brilliant. What is behind that mask though?"_ Then she asked Ash in a seducing kind of voice "Hey there handsome. Good to know that my fans are in Johto too, but I am unable to recognise you. Could you please take off that mask of yours?" Ash said "Oh. Sorry for the mask, but I can't take it out here. Too many people, but if you come with us to our room, then I would show you" Duplica agreed, but was on guard for if the trainers tried anything.

As soon as they entered the room, Ash took off his mask, bandana and glasses revealing his handsome face. Duplica blushed a bit, but as soon as she saw the Pikachu on his shoulder she exclaimed loudly "OH...MY...GOD. Ash, is that you?" When Ash nodded, she said "It's been some time. Isn't it? Last time we met, you were not this famous, but now you are 'THE ASH KETCHUM'. I never thought you would be so famous in a short time. So, what with all these disguise?" Ash explained her about his reasons and requested not to reveal it to anyone.

Then the discussions continued. Ash introduced Casey to Duplica and asked Duplica about her reason to be in Johto. From her explanation Ash concluded that apparently she was in town to attend an acting convention and to have a new Ditto nicknamed _'_ _Mini-Dit_ _'_ examined. She revealed that the thing that was wrong with it was that, even though it could duplicate other Pokémon, it couldn't match the size of really big Pokémons like Onix.

Duplica showed them her Ditto. The Mini-Dit transformed into Pikachu, then Chikorita, which looked like the real Pikachu and Chikorita. Duplica asked to send a big Pokémon and Ash sent his female Dragonair. Mini-Dit transformed and Ash was very surprised to see it transformed into a Dragonair, but remained very tiny in length compared to the original. Team Rocket saw that and planned to catch this phenomenal Ditto. Casey saw it and commented that Duplica caught the strangest, wackiest and abnormal Pokémon. Duplica was hurt by those words. So, Casey corrected herself by saying that she meant it in a good way. Ash encouraged her, as having Ditto could mean having every Pokémon knowing every move. Duplica was happy and challenged him to a battle, sending Mini-Dit to battle. Mini-Dit transformed into Ash's Dragonair and used _Head-Butt_ to attack Ash's much bigger Dragonair, who shrugged the move sending Mini-Dit back at its trainer. Then she fired a weak _Flamethrower_ to defeat the Mini-Dit. Duplica sighed and said she would have guessed of the outcome before challenging a league winner like him.

Suddenly, Jessie and James appeared on the roof, being dressed as Ash and Duplica. As they were distracting the heroes, Meowth sneaked in and took Mini-Dit away. The heroes looked all over the place, but not even Noctowl or Ditto (who transformed into Noctowl) could find them. Soon Nurse Joy came and reported that some people at a nearby village were trying to sell a tiny Arbok. When Ash, Casey and Duplica went to look into the matter they saw a huge gathering o people. Many were interested, but Jessie and James were starting to doubt Meowth's plan would work. Meowth told them to get back to business. Suddenly, the heroes came and were suspicious of this mini Arbok, then asked where they got it. Jessie and James bluffed by saying that the story was too intense to be told. Ash saw something familiar about those two sales-persons, who proposed to trade Pikachu for Arbok. Ash refused, while Jessie and James continued to pester him, causing Meowth to bash them. The heroes immediately recognised the Team Rocket, who went to take Pikachu away. Pikachu used _Thunderbolt_ and bashed them to a tree, setting Mini-Dit free. Jessie sends Arbok and Wobbuffet came out as well. Jessie went to call him back, but Meowth reminded Jessie that it could use _Counter_. Duplica had her Ditto transform into Arbok and Mini-Dit into Wobbuffet. Due to Mini-Dit's small size, the people were amazed by it.

Ditto used _Tackle_ , but got hit by Wobbuffet's _Counter_. Arbok used _Poison Sting_ , which Mini-Dit reflected via _Counter_ and while Arbok dodged, James almost got hit by it. Meowth advised James to take Pikachu since Ash and co were distracted. So James sent Weezing on Pikachu. Ditto used _Wrap_ and stopped Weezing from doing any damage. Ash was irritated and asked Pikachu to use a _ThunderBolt_ on the Team rocket members. Before team rocket could counter attack or defend, a huge electrical surge hit them and blasted them off with a loud explosion.

After that Ash, Duplica and Casey returned to the pokemon centre and treated their pokemons' injuries. At the Center, Duplica presented her small Ditto. She chose an Ursaring and Mini-Dit transformed into it, making Casey to comment it looked very cute just like a tiny teddy bear. Ash clarified to Duplica that Mini-Dit is special for that trait, so Duplica thought of making a Ditto team, which would have their own ways of transforming. Ash thought that Duplica could be a Ditto master with enough training. Then Ash and Casey left the centre before it was very late.

After travelling all afternoon, Ash and Casey decided to spend their night in a makeshift camp arranged by Ash. After dinner Ash left to train his pokemons. As soon as he came across a clearing their night training began. He trained his male Dragonair in increasing his strength and stamina, while training his female one in defence and dodging. Pikachu was training with at least ten times of his weight on his body making his newer pokemons to sweat-drop. Ash took off his jacket to bask in the moonlight and to enjoy the night air.

The training was almost over. Ash recalled every one of his pokemons into their respective pokeballs and was about to leave. Suddenly he was hit with a weak Thunder-shock when he put his foot on something. When he looked down to see what he put his feet on, he saw a tail just like his Pikachu. Ash was surprised at that because his Pikachu was perched up on his shoulder. He looked at it and Pikachu replied with a cute _'Pika'_. Then he understood Ash's questioning look and jumped off his shoulder to stand aside the new Pikachu, on whose tail Ash had put his feet. Then Pikachu used Flash to lighten up the surrounding and Ash could see the clear picture of the pokemon he unintentionally hurt. When he saw it clearly, he was even more surprised, because in front of him was a Pikachu, but the different thing was that it was slightly orange in colour with pink colour cheek-pouches, which confirmed it to be a Shiny. Ash's Pikachu though was irritated and immediately shocked it using a weak electric move.

Ash was about to intervene and reprimand Pikachu but stopped because the shiny Pikachu began to glow white. As soon as the glow stopped Ash saw a Ditto in its place. The weird thing was the Ditto was light blue in colour showing that it was a Shiny. The ditto jumped on to Ash and covered Ash's bandana saying _'Ditto'_ again and again. Thanks to the Psychic training and the unknown Aura energy, Ash was beginning to understand poke-speech and was able to translate what the Ditto was saying. It was asking Ash to take it with him. When Ash asked for the reason the unique ditto replied again. Ash partially translated it and was able to understand that the ditto loved to transform a lot and as Ash had so much pokemon, it wanted to come with him. Besides he didn't have anyone in the forest. Ash was very sad after hearing that and replied "You don't have to worry anymore, Ditto. You are coming with me and you will get a huge family with me. I will train you and in time you will become very powerful", but inside Ash's head something was going on and he was thinking _"Wow. I must be a favourite of Arceus to get a shiny Ditto of all pokemons. A ditto is rare these days and I got a shiny ditto. Now I would be able to transform it to various shiny forms. Professor would be overjoyed as soon as he sees it."_ Then he threw a Friend ball to catch the Ditto. The ball gave a 'Ping' immediately showing that the Ditto was captured without any restraint. After that Ash left towards his camp to rest for the night.

( _Scene Break_ )

Next morning, after finishing the morning exercise and routine, Ash and Casey left the camp. They were on their way to Ecruteak, but Casey got distracted by something when her Chikorita wondered sideways and tripped on something. Ash heard Casey squealing very loudly and went to investigate. When he went behind the bushes, he saw Casey fretting over a bug pokemon. The reason was that the bug was a bigger than average sleeping Ariados and it had colour pattern very similar to what Casey liked that was strips of blue and yellow on a lot of body-parts. Casey asked Chikorita to cut the bushes using razor leaf to be able to see the full size of the large bug type.

Ash said Casey if she liked it, then she should catch it. Before Casey could attack the Ariados though, a woman came there who was finding the Ariados for quite some time. Ash recognised her as Aya, the sister of one of the current Elite four, Koga's sister. She introduced herself to Ash and Casey. Then she explained them about the special training she was doing under her teacher/Sensei, a renowned dojo-master, who was using his Ariados to improve her skills. Ash understood it and asked Pikachu to use Thunder-Bolt on the bug-type. Aya said 'No' loudly, but it was already too late. Pikachu's electric attack was so powerful that the Ariados fainted instantaneously as soon as the voltage flowed through its body.

Ash sheepishly scratched the back of his head and asked "Ooops. Sorry. Was I not supposed to do that?" Aya's mouth fell open seeing the power of the small electric rodent. She was gaping like a fish and asking "What the hell? How was only one move able to put Sensei's Ariados out for count?" Ash replied "Because it was a powerful move, I guess". Aya shook her head negatively and said "That may be true, but this Ariados is on par with one of brother Koga's low-level pokemon, who is an Elite four member. So, to put it out like that, your Pikachu has to be insanely powerful" Before Ash could reply, a masculine and older voice replied "You are forgetting one major ninja rule here, Aya that is **'Always expect the unexpected'**. The same happened here. So, don't get surprised" Then he looked at Ash and said "Though I must congratulate you Youngman for having such a powerful pokemon. Would you mind having some breakfast with us? We could discuss some more over food." Ash and Casey nodded positively and left towards a Japanese style mansion to have their food after the Sensei recalled the Ariados.

After breakfast was served the Sensei of Aya said "I am Moga, Aya's sensei and the master of this ninja training centre. We don't usually allow strangers in here, but after you defeated my Ariados so easily, I couldn't stop myself from inviting you here as guests." Ash and Casey thanked him for the generosity. Then he explained to both of them about the pokemon Trigitsu. Ash and Casey were interested in learning and soon both of them were in ninja outfits. Moga showed them the way to training arena where a lot of people were training in ninja ways.

After learning some ways of Ninja, Casey asked one of the trainers for a practice match. The trainer agreed and soon a pokemon battle commenced. The trainer was using a Pineco against Casey's Beedrill. Both trainers traded attack after attack, but soon the Pineco used Self-destruct. The powerful move caused both the pokemons to faint. Moga declared the match DRAW. Then Ash, Casey and Aya left to have some lunch.

After lunch Aya asked Ash for a battle. She chose her Venonat while Ash took out a pokeball and used his shiny Spoink who bounced on its tail. Moga and Aya were surprised to see a non-native pokemon. Aya asked Ash "Are you from Hoenn region?" Ash replied "No. I am from Kanto. I caught my little spoink in the Ilex forest. So, don't get confused. This is his first ever pokemon battle." Then he looked at spoink and said "Let's show them what you got. Are you ready, Spoink?" Spoink bounced happily showing its eagerness for battle.

Soon Moga announced for the battle to begin. Aya asked Venonat to use _Poison powder, Sleep powder, Stun spore, Leech life, Hypnosis_ and _Tackle_ alternatively. Ash's Spoink kept dodging and defending with the help of _Safeguard_ , _Protect_ and from jumping in various angles. Aya was getting frustrated and her Venonat was getting tired. Ash saw Aya losing her patience and asked Spoink to use _Psybeam_. Spoink used the Psychic-type move after jumping up and hit Venonat squarely, which put the bug-type down for count. Moga declared Ash WINNER. Then he looked at Aya and said "Did you learn anything from the battle, Aya?" Aya nodded and replied "Yes, Sensei. I learnt that even when put in tough situations, I should not lose my concentration and patience. Otherwise my opponents will take advantage of it, like Ash did in the match" Moga nodded and everybody left the place soon.

It was evening time. Aya was training with her Venonat. She heard a noise coming from some distance. So, she followed the sound and soon saw a clearing filled with some pokemon who were training rigorously. The weights and the hardcore style they were using made her think loudly "Wow. Such powerful pokemons. That Noctowl must be very strong to be able to carry that much weight. The Tyranitar, Houndour and Combee also look strong." She was about to look for the trainer, but stopped in her tracks when her eyes fell on a guy who was doing some fighting like stances bare-bodied. The sweat dripping through his powerful muscles made Aya to blush a bit. Ash was training in his fighting styles, which he learnt from books and videos, when he sensed someone watching from afar thanks to the Psychic training and his newly awaked Aura energy.

So, Ash covered his face again using the mask and turned around. Aya squeaked in surprise after getting caught staring. She thanked the darkness because if it weren't dark her flaming face would have been visible, which would have further embarrassed her. Ash said "Hello, Aya. May I help you?" Aya replied "No, It's nothing. I heard a lot of noise. So, followed the sound and was lead here. By the way are those pokemons all yours?" Ash replied "Oh yeah. They are not only my pokemon, but also my family" They were talking for some time. Suddenly Noctowl gave a loud cry causing Ash and Aya to be on guard.

Ash and Aya went to find the reason and soon came to know that some of the trainees in the camp had their pokeballs stolen. Moga, Ash and Aya soon saw a meowth shaped balloon up in the sky. Moga threw some flying stars which made a hole in the balloon decreasing its speed. Ash ordered Noctowl to use _Steel Wing_ to cut the net in which the stolen pokeblls were and to set them free from team rocket's hands. Moga ordered his Ariados to use _String Shot_ to make a net on which the pokeballs landed safely.

The incident caused team rocket to fall from their balloon. Jessie used Arbok while James used Weezing. Ash helped the trainers in getting their pokeball while Aya and Moga battled team rocket. Moga defeated Weezing, but in the process his Ariados was exhausted leaving Aya to fight alone against the Arbok.

Moga encouraged Aya saying that even if she did not learn everything, she needed to give her best, so Aya accepted the battle. Arbok went to _Tackle_ , but Venonat countered with _Stun Spore_. Arbok evaded and used _Poison Sting_ against Venonat. Venonat dodged, though Aya saw their opponent was strong. Her tutor reminded her of the training with Ariados. So Aya commanded Venonat to _Rest_. Venonat followed the command and went to sleep to regain some energy. Arbok used _Wrap_ on it and while it seemed Venonat was about to lose, Aya distracted Jessie by yelling at her. The move succeeded causing Jessie to get distracted and forgetting to ask Arbok to finish the battle. This provided ample time for Venonat to wake up and it paralyzed Arbok with _Stun Spore_. Venonat _Tackle_ d Arbok, tossing it to Team Rocket. Ash came back and asked Pikachu to use a _ThunderBolt_ , which sent Team rocket blasting off again.

Soon after the battle was over, Aya's Venonat evolved into a Venomoth. Moga thanked Ash. Then Ash and Moga congratulated Aya. After everyone got their pokemons, Ash, Moga and Aya went back to have dinner. After dinner was over Moga and Aya came to Ash. Aya said "Ash, I want to challenge you once more. Venomoth wants to battle you as well. You are very powerful and I have never battled someone like you. Please accept my request" Ash agreed immediately at the prospect of battle. Moga came and said "Youngman, you were phenomenal today. Throughout the day you never lost once to Aya and she is the best student here. From the battle style you are using, I believe that you know ninja styles quite good. Aya was also saying that you were training in martial arts in the evening as well. So please tell me if you have battled any ninja trainer before or are you a ninja yourself? From your battle style alone I can say that you are definitely not a green-horn trainer. So, please take off your disguise and enlighten us, if it is not too much hassle for you. I promise you that this meeting will remain confidential."

Casey started giggling at that and said "Oh. Ash. You get caught every now and then. I have told you to stop accepting every challenge, but you never listen and blow your own cover." Ash groaned at that. Aya asked "Yeah. I am curious about this mask and all too. Are you a criminal? Is that the reason for your disguise?" Ash and Casey sweat-dropped at that comment. Casey started laughing loudly. Then she huffed catching her aching stomach "Did...you...ha...ha...hear...that...Ash? She is guessing in a completely wrong way." Then she calmed sown and explained "No, Aya. He is not a criminal, but he may take your heart away." Then she said "No, he is a battling genius, one of the finest and youngest of all times in the business. He is in fact the youngest to win a league and at his first try nonetheless" Moga and Aya started connecting the dots. The more they thought, the narrower their choices became. Then Casey pulled Ash's mask causing Aya and Moga to get slack-jawed. Casey confirmed their doubts by saying "Aya, he is none other than Ash Ketchum. Also known as 'The Golden Boy of Kanto', if I am not wrong"

Aya and Moga still could not believe that they were in presence of such powerful trainer. Ash was a legend in Kanto, from where they belong. Aya said "Why Ash? You could have said me. We have met in Fuchsia city. After that battle, I wanted to battle you myself, but then you became a sensation after winning back to back leagues. Meeting you now-a-days is an errand in itself. So, I am not going to wait any longer. Please let's battle now" Ash could not say no and proceeded to battle.

Moga refereed the battle. Aya chose her Venomoth against Ash's Spoink. This time Venomoth gave a tough fight. It used _Psybeam, Wing Attack, Leech Life, Bug Buzz, Poison Powder, Stun Spore, Sleep Powder_ and _Quiver Dance_ continuously. Ash too defended by asking Spoink to use _Protect, Safeguard,_ Moving Around, _Double Team_ and _Flash_. Aya enjoyed this battle a lot more. Then she asked her Venomoth to use the new move _Signal Beam_. Venomoth used the multicoloured beam at Spoink. Ash asked Spoink to use _Power Gem_ in return. The rock type move overpowered Venomoth's bug type move despite being a STAB move and crashed straight into Venomoth causing a mini explosion. When the smoke was clear, Venomoth could be seen unconscious. Spoink was tired as well and as soon as Venomoth was declared unconscious, he too fell on his back to rest a bit.

After the match was over, Aya said "Despite evolving, Venomoth still fell short to defeat that Spoink of yours. I must say that Spoink definitely has a lot of spunk." Moga too clapped and congratulated Aya for giving Ash a tough fight. Then he looked at Ash and said "That was a very good battle Ash. Now that I have seen you battle, I also want to challenge you to a one-on-one pokemon battle. After all it's not every day for us to get a two time league winner here. What do you say?" Ash recalled his Spoink and said "All right. Let us have a pokemon battle. After all it's not every day for me to get a trainer, whose pokemon is on par with some of the pokemons of an Elite four member." Casey was standing in the side lines to watch the battle and to learn some pointers. Aya volunteered to referee the battle. She asked both the trainers to choose their pokemons. Ash chose his Tyranitar against Moga's Ariados. Moga thought _"So, he even has a Tyranitar. It has the_ _ **sand stream**_ _ability. Now I have to take damage from the sand storm. This pokemon looks rather strong too. Let's see how good it can battle."_ As soon as Aya announced the battle to commence, both trainers used their attacks.

Moga: "Ariados, Use _X-Scissor_ to damage it"

Ash: "Use _Fire Fang_ to counter that. Then grab its legs in your fangs." Tyranitar stopped the bug-type attack using the fire-type move. The Ariados cried out in pain after getting caught within the fangs.

Moga: "Very nice Ash, but we are not out yet. Ariados, use Toxic in close range" Before Ash could command anything, the move poisoned Tyranitar. "Now use Venoshock" The Venoshock damaged Tyranitar doubly, despite not being a very effective move, thanks to the previous Toxic. Ash was ready though as well as Tyranitar, who didn't let go of Ariados despite getting hit.

Ash: "Good job on holding onto it. I don't want to fight a prolonged battle. Use _Fire Fang_ once more. Follow up with _Fire Punch_ " The Ariados was trying very hard to get free.

Moga: " _Venoshock_ once more. Put everything you have in it"

Despite getting a burn from the Fire Fang, Ariados performed the Venoshock by firing a poisonous beam at Tyranitar at point blank. Tyranitar cried out in pain, but covering her palm in fire used Fire Punch on the Ariados. The power behind the punch threw Ariados away causing debris to fly and caused a small explosion. When the smoke cleared, Ariados could be seen with swirls for eyes.

Aya declared "Ariados is unable to battle. Tyranitar.." she trailed off because Tyranitar could not bear the poison anymore and fell down unconscious. Aya declared "Tyranitar is unable to battle as well. This match is a draw."

Moga was thinking _"Wow. What a powerful Tyranitar. It is definitely well-trained. To fight the most devastating combo and still stand till the end is no easy feat. This kid is a true prodigy. Someday I will battle him once more. Today was a short battle, but I know he was holding back. Next time we battle, I have to give him a tough battle. Today was a lucky day for me. The DRAW came in the nick of the time and saved me from getting embarrassed in front of Aya and especially Koga."_ Then he recalled his Ariados.

Ash was thinking _"Damn. Tyranitar has grown strong, but there is still room for improvement. I have to train her in increasing her defences and Stamina. She needs access to Rest and Safeguard as well. I have to expand her arsenal. For now though, I am satisfied."_ Then he recalled Tyranitar and looking at the pokeball thought _"Don't worry girl. You will be ready by the time Silver Conference commences"_

Ash and Moga smiled at each other. Aya on the other hand was speechless after seeing her teacher being able to draw against Ash only by the margin of a hair's breadth. Then Ash and Moga shook hands with one another. Ash and Casey left to take some rest inside the castle to have some dinner before moving ahead the next morning.

( _Scene Break_ )

Ash and Casey were resting for a bit after walking all morning. Ash found out that Ecruteak city was getting very near. In fact, as soon as they crossed the mountain, Ecruteak would be on their view. So, he decided to have some breakfast. After feeding their pokemons, Ash and Casey were also eating. Casey said "Hey Ash? I want to ask you something. The thing is we have been eating packed food since I joined you. Don't you like cooked food? Because I don't think so much packed food is good for your health. We are travelling on foot. That's why we are not getting unhealthy or we would be having so much health problems."

Ash looked at Casey and became embarrassed. Pikachu was laughing on the sidelines while enjoying his poke-food and ketchup. Ash said "Shut up Pikachu". Then he said "It's not like that. Actually, the thing is I don't know how to cook." Casey sweat-dropped at that and said "You should have said it before. I would have taught you." Ash said "I didn't know you could cook as well. Besides I have tried cooking before. My friend Brock used to tell me how to cook, but sadly every time I cooked, it was a disaster. After failing continuously for a couple of months, Brock banned me from his kitchen and said that Cooking is not my cup of tea. I became angry hearing that, but then eventually calmed down after my pokemons also asked me to stop cooking. From that day on I am on packed food. My pokemons get their food that is prepared by my Mom and Brock. Both of them are excellent cooks. So, whenever my pokemon get bored with the packed food, I send them back to Mom to enjoy some quality food. I also eat at pokemon centres and restaurants, when I get a craving for some good freshly cooked food."

Casey was laughing so heavily that her stomach started to pain. Then she said "That was some tale. Ha...Ha" Then she calmed down and continued "Seriously Ash. Finally I am able to find a flaw in Mr. Ask Ketchum. He can't cook even if he had to save his life. Dear Arceus. Nobody ever mentioned about it anywhere." Ash groaned and said "That's because nobody knows. Besides, these sandwiches are good." Casey said "Don't try to get off topic Ash. From now on I am going to cook, okay. We are not going to eat any more packed food." Ash was about to protest saying he didn't want to burden her, but his pokemons, who were eating there started jumping in joy. So, Ash finally relented and agreed on the condition that the raw material collection and other expenses would be on him. Casey didn't mind that.

After the breakfast Ash called Professor Oak and said "Hey Prof. Oak. Do you have some time? I want some pokemons quickly."

Oak: "Why yes, of course Ash. So, what pokemons do you want?"

Ash: "Actually Prof. I am nearing Ecruteak city. So, I want to transfer the Dragonairs, Articuno, Moltress, Zapdos, Ditto, Combee, Numel and Spoink." Then he sent their pokeballs using Bill's device.

Oak: "I got them Ash. I also got your message showing the pokemons you want in exchange. There are seven pokemon in total which leaves you with two empty slots. I want to send you the Leafeons, Ash. From now on you will have to alternate among them. They have been pestering MewTwo for quite some time now. So, he left them here with me and Delia. I am not going to listen any of your buts this time. Here are their pokeballs along with the ones you requested"

Ash: "No, there is no problem Prof. Oak. I got the pokeballs and thanks for reminding me that I have a lot of Eeveelutions as well. I sometimes forget that they also miss me. I am going to give them some time from now on as well. Thanks for the transfer Prof. Oak. Bye for now." With that Ash clipped the pokeballs into his belt and switched off the e- device.

Ash got up from his place and searched for Casey who was training her pokemons for the next gym battle. She saw Ash and said "Hey Ash. Do you mind if I ask you for a battle. I want to be prepared for the Ecruteak gym" Ash nodded and took out a green coloured Ultra ball. Casey saw the custom made pokeball and said "So, you transferred some of your pokemons again. You seriously have so many pokemons, but reveal them seldom in public. I have been travelling with you for some time now. Yet I don't know what pokemons are in those glittering pokeballs you always hide inside your chest belt. Don't you trust me on them?"

Ash understood what pokeballs she was talking about. Ash had a chat with MewTwo regarding the custom made pokeballs for his already caught pokemons. Prof. Oak arranged for the Ultra Balls, but there were only twenty of the expensive and hard to get Luxury balls, Prof. Oak could arrange. Then Ash asked Professor to transfer his pokemons from the old normal pokeballs into the Ultra Balls and Luxury balls. When Prof. Oak declared the news to every pokemon via MewTwo, they were overjoyed after getting their own special pokeballs.

Ash didn't change the pokemons who were caught using Apricot pokeballs because they were already special. Also Ash didn't change the pokeballs of the pokemons who didn't want to fight or were with his mom because they were always out of their pokeballs. Some pokemons were disappointed, but they understood after Ash talked to them regarding the matter over Oak's Video phone. The pokemons who got the Ultra Balls were happy because they could recognise their own pokeball from the lot as the pokeballs were customised. Each Ultra Ball had two colours, the top one being the dark shade of the pokemon and the lower half, which used to be white, being the lighter shade of the pokemon's skin colour. For example, Tyranitar's pokeball was light blue on the bottom and dusk green Zig-zag with red on top half. Beedrill had Yellow on bottom and Black strips over Yellow on top half. The list went on and every pokemon had their pokeball. Every pokeball also had a sticker printed on top of the pokeball, which was of the pokemon the pokeball belonged to. For Ash's cloned pokemons, the photo was having black marks and for normal ones they were plain. Ash also had more than one pokemons of same kind like the herds or the mating pairs. So, he had asked Professor to customise them accordingly at which Oak had done a wonderful job. For herds, Prof. Oak found that many of Ash's herd pokemons didn't want to battle at all. So, he took photos of every individual in a certain way and printed it on their pokeballs. For example, the male Eeveelutions were all had their photos in standing position, while the female counterparts were sitting on their hind legs.

The pokeballs were all uniquely painted with glittering paints. They all had tracker devices on them as well so that if they were lost by chance, then they could be found easily. The Luxury Balls were the same as well. The only difference was they were allotted to some very special pokemons. Ash's Bulbasaur, Squirtle, male Butterfree, male Pidgeot, original Charizard accepted the Customised Luxury Balls. They were the first team Ash had. So, Ash provided them with the privilege. Pikachu became generous and declined the Luxury Ball for an Ultra Ball. He explained to Ash that he never liked pokeballs. So, Ash should keep the Luxury Ball for some other pokemon. Ash hugged Pikachu at that. Charizard was the happiest among the lot. When MewTwo said Ash that Charizard was so happy because Ash finally gave him recognition and for a strong pokemon like him, the special Luxury Ball was indeed a Luxury. The others to receive the Luxury balls were the Mew-Duo. Princess loved it a lot as well as Striker. The legendary birds (Articuno, Zapdos, Moltress and Lugia) also received one each. Ash had given one each to the baby Celebi and the lead female Celebi, who were both very thankful to Ash. The gesture made every pokemon Ash had to come a lot closer to Ash and their bonds became even stronger than before. Ash kept the rest six with him all the time. Ash only carried Ultra Balls/Friend Balls with him so that he would be able to catch new pokemons. Prof. Oak kept Ash's old pokeballs to give to new trainers as gifts.

Ash smirked at Casey and showed her the two customised pokeballs containing his Leafeons. Both the pokeballs were identical with upper half portion a glittering green matching leafeon and the lower half being non-glittering ivory colour in contrast with Leafeon's secondary body colour. Casey squealed seeing such beautiful pokeballs and asked Ash to let her see the pokemons inside.

Ash pressed the button to call his pokemons out. As soon as the pokemons came out, Ash hugged both the pokemons who were overjoyed after meeting their trainer personally after a few months. While Ash was checking both the grass-type Eeveelutions, Casey scanned both of them using her _Johto_ regional pokedex. The pokedex commented _"Pokemon unknown. No data found"._ Casey asked Ash "Both the pokemon are so cute, but what are they exactly? My pokedex is unable to scan them." Ash smiled and said "They are Leafeons, the grass-type evolution of Eevee. Your pokedex is not scanning them because they are not native to Johto/Kanto and I think you are using the regional pokedex not a national pokedex"

Casey was overjoyed and said "Wow. I didn't know Eevee could evolve into a Grass-type as well. Both of them are powerful and so beautiful. Can I please have a pokemon battle?" Ash agreed and asked his female Leafeon to stand in for the battle. Casey sent out her Chikorita. Soon the battle began.

Casey: "Chikorita Use _Razor Leaf_ "

Ash: "Counter using your own _Razor Leaf_ , Leafeon" Both the pokemon fired the razor sharp leaves those cancelled out each other, but Leafeon being an evolved pokemon fired much more leaves which hit Chikorita making it cry.

Casey: "Don't worry Chokorita. Let's show them our training. Use _Quick Attack_. Then use _Vine Whip_ to hold it tight and follow up with _Poison Powder_ at point blank." Ash was impressed with the strategy when Chikorita followed every command as soon as they left Casey and soon Leafeon was caught in the vines. He was also impressed with his Leafeon's training who neither panicked nor cried out in pain. That showed its stamina, defensive abilities and the faith in her trainer.

Ash: "Leafeon, use _Sunny Day_ " The move intensified the sun rays. Casey was confused with the unusal command, but when the poison powder didn't poison the Leafeon despite being fired from so close she looked at Ash confusingly who explained "Leafeon's ability is _**Leaf Guard,**_ which makes her immune to all major status ailments during strong sunlight." Casey nodded and thought _"Wow. I never thought of using Chikorita's ability, but now I am going to use it"_

Casey: "Chikorita use _Quick Attack_ to go near it and then use _Iron Tail_ " Thanks to the Chlorophyll ability Chikorita was much faster and used Iron Tail on Leafeon. The hit was on Leafeon's back which made it grunt a bit showing that the move was powerful.

Ash: "Quick Leafeon while it is still in air use _Seed Bomb_ followed by _Grass Whistle_ " After performing the Iron Tail Chikorita a still in air and was hit with the hard shelled seeds fired by Leafeon. Beofre Casey could give any command though; Leafeon put Chikorita to sleep using the sleep inducing move.

Casey (Groans): "Come on Chikorita. Wake up" But Chikorita kept on sleeping.

Ash: "Use _Giga Drain_ followed by _Iron Tail_ " Leafeon sucked the sleeping Chikorita's health and then used a powerful glowing Iron tail that sent away Chikorita towards Casey.

The jerk woke Chikorita up, but it was bruised, battered and tired after fighting a prolonged battle which it was not used to. The Leafeon on the other hand was not even batting a sweat. This power gap humiliated Chikorita and it was engulfed in a white light of evolution to shorten the power gap. When the light died down, in place of Chikorita was a evolved Bayleef which looked completely rejuvenated.

Casey (Whooping with joy): "Wow Bayleef. You finally evolved. Now let's continue the battle." After scanning the Bayleef with her pokedex Casey ordered "Use _Grassy Terrain_ and follow up with _Nature Power_ " The area surrounding was covered in grass and vines. Then Bayleef shot a powerful Nature power which shot like a bullet towards Leafeon.

Ash: "Use _Protect_ and then use _Double Team_. After that use _Seed Bomb_ from all around" The Leafeon followed the order to 'T' and soon Bayleef was being pelted with the Seed bombs from all sides. Due to the Double team it was unable to recognise the original Leafeon as well.

Casey was thinking _"Wow. Ash is so powerful. My evolved Bayleef is getting tired, but his Leafeon is still going on. Today he truly showed me why he is so successful. I learnt so much from this one battle. If I keep travelling with him, I will be able to learn so much. For now I have to do something"_ Then she ordered "Bayleef. Use _Sweet Scent_ to make the Duplicates Vanish. Then use _Sunny Day_ and follow up with _Synthesis_ " Bayleef followed the orders and due to the intense sunlight, the Synthesis recovered a lot of its energy.

Ash: "Good job Casey. That's a good move, but not good enough. Leafeon, use _Swords Dance_ followed by _Leaf Blade_. Then jump up using the reaction force. After those use _Solar Beam_ "

The attacks were so fluently used that Casey didn't get any time to order her Bayleef to defend or dodge. She was flabbergasted by the sudden seriousness Ash was showing and thought _"So, he was just toying with me till now. His pokemon is still going on after fighting for almost twenty minutes. On the other hand Bayleef is too tired to continue even after using Synthesis. I have to ask Ash to give me some physical conditioning tips after the battle."_

Casey: "Bayleef I know you are tired, but this is our chance to prove that we are not weak. You too use _Solar Beam_. Full power" Bayleef was on its last legs and after hearing the inspiring speech from Casey its ability overgrow came to life surrounding it with green glow. Then it fired a very big Solar Beam to counter Leafeon's Solar Beam which was about to hit it.

When the two powerful Grass type moves hit, it created a large 'BOOM' and debris flew up. When the dust settled down Leafeon looked a bit tired, but was still standing. It was using Synthesis taking advantage of the still on Sunny Day. Ash was proud to see that his pokemons were taking his advice and were trying to take advantage of situations when Ash was not giving any command. Casey on the other hand could see her Bayleef was down for count finally. Thanks to the Solar Beam fired at the last moment, it didn't suffer any damage, but the explosion caused it to finally faint. She sighed and recalled her pokemon. Then she saw Ash hugging his Leafeon which looked a bit tired, but otherwise it didn't have any mark of the battle it participated in on its body.

Casey and Ash were discussing about their battle while both the Leafeons and Bayleef were trying to know one another. Ash had just taken off his mask to get some fresh air. Suddenly he got distracted by a cry of _'Come back Skiploom'._ Casey looked around as well and soon they could see a kid no more than ten was coming their way. They saw the pokemon he was calling out as well. The pokemon was hanging out with their three grass types.

In the mean time the kid came to a sudden halt, when his eyes fell on Ash's uncovered face. His eyes grew as big as dinner plates and he cried out "OH MY GOD. I CAN'T BELIEVE IT. ARE YOU REALLY 'THE ASH KETCHUM'?" Ash was surprised as well because he was not expecting anyone to find out about him being there. So, when he was suddenly asked the question, he couldn't deny and said "Yes, I am. By the way who are you?"

The kid jumped after getting Ash's confirmation and replied "I am Ephraim. I am a huge fan of yours. So, the news about you being in Johto was true afterall. Now I can tell my friends that I have seen you. Hoorray" Ash was happy that he was so famous despite not being from Johto, but then said "Please don't tell anyone about me." When the boy asked the reason, Ash said "I want to keep my privacy. If you tell your friends about me, then the news will spread which will rub me off my freedom. I would love to do whatever you want in return to keep your mouth shut for at least now. What do you say?" The kid agreed and asked Ash to train him for the upcoming Grass tournament.

Ash and Casey both became curious after they heard about the tournament and enquired some more about it. Ephraim explained "The grass tournament takes place every year during this time in collaboration with the pokemon league. Only Grass and Grass-hybrid pokemons are allowed to battle in it. A trainer has to choose one pokemon and has to fight till the end using that pokemon only. This year the tournament is starting after two days from now. First day will be preliminary matches and top sixteen trainers will battle in the second day in the finals. Trainers from various ages come here to participate in it because the winner gets fifty thousand pokedollars and a chance to study Herbology which he/she may decline. I am also participating this for the first time with my Skiploom as I want to make a career in Herbology. My chances are very slim though." The kid finished with a sad tone.

Ash and Casey talked with each other a bit. Then Ash said "Casey and I are also participating this time." Ephraim was shocked knowing that and said "If you are battling this time, then the tournament is going to be a blast this time around. I have seen your matches on TV and you are super strong. The girl with you is also strong if I have to say anything after seeing her battle using the Bayleef. It would have been good to tell everyone that Ash Ketchum is competing this time" Ash said "Well you have promised not to tell anyone , Ephraim. Let's make the deal sweeter. I am going to personally train you for the next two days for the tournament in return for you keeping my secret to yourself. Will that be fine?" Ephraim could not believe his ears and asked him to confirm "Are you seriously going to train me?"When Ash nodded, Ephraim whooped in joy and thanked Ash again and again.

Ephraim asked Ash and Casey "Where are you both staying? I will come there tomorrow for training." When Ash replied "We were not planning to stay here, but now that we have decided to stay for the tournament, we will book a room in the local pokemon centre." Ephraim replied "Sorry to say, but the local pokemon centre is under construction. Only the treatment is going on there for now."Ash and Casey asked him about some motel, but Ephraim said "There are not many in here, but if you both won't mind, I would love to have both of you as guests in my house" Ash said that he didn't want to be a burden, but Ephraim forced and both Ash and Casey followed Ephraim to his home.

When they arrived at Epraim's home, they were impressed. The house was a double floor building and was like a small mansion with a huge garden in front of it. Casey squealed with joy, while Ash enquired about Ephraim's parents on the way to their door. He came to know that Ephraim's father was a local businessman who was quite successful and his mother was a home-maker. When they rang the bell, a middle-aged lady came out and greeted Ephraim. Ephraim explained to her about his guests _(Not telling her about Ash's actual name though)_ and explained her that he was getting trained by Ash. Ephraim's mother was happy and invited them for lunch.

Ash and Casey were given a room each as the house was quite big with plenty of rooms in it. Ash said "Hey Ephraim? Why don't you show me your Skiploom's battle prowess before the lunch is served" Ephraim nodded and lead the trainers to the small fiend in the backyard.

Soon Ephraim used hisSkiploom against Ash's female Leafeon. Ash asked Ephraim to start attacking. Ephraim commanded Skiploom to attack. The Skiploom followed and used some good moves like _Tackle, Poison powder, Stun spore, Sleep powder, Bullet seed_ and _Headbutt_. Th Grass/Flying type was not very tired too which confirmed that it did have stamina and energy to grow if it could fire the moves back to back. Leafeon was using Substitute to defend against the moves. After getting hit by Headbutt thrice, the substitute broke. Ash stopped defending and asked Leafeon to use Razor leaf followed by seed bomb. The moves hit Skiploom as it could not dodge in time and fell down unconscious.

Ephraim was sad at that, but Ash consoled him by saying "For a first timer, you are good. From the battle, I got that your Skiploom has very good attack and special attack stats. That is good because skiploom is still very young and has the ability to become powerful" Ephraim smiled at the praise and waited for more. Ash continued "On the other hand, it has limited attacks, very low speed and its physical and special defences are rather below average." Ephraim was crestfallen after hearing so many negative comments and became watery-eyed. Ash said "Hey don't cry now. I am here now and in the next two days we are going to work on improving those. Okay?"

Ephraim smiled after hearing that. So, Ash said "From today afternoon, your training will commence. So, meet me at five in the evening. The same will be for the next two days as well. I will train you from morning six to nine and evening six to nine." When Ephraim complained that he wanted to train more, Ash made him understood that he had to look after his pokemon's strength as well. Besides the time would be his one-on-one time with his Skiploom to polish whatever they have learnt. Ephraim agreed. Casey didn't want to miss the chance and hence, she announced that she too would join the training. Then they all left to have lunch.

In the evening Ash, Casey and Ephraim were in the backyard. Ash asked Ephraim if he had scanned his pokemon. Ephraim said that he never did and only commanded Skiploom to use the moves he had seen it using. Hence, Ash scanned Skiploom using Ephraim's pokedex. The mechanical voice was a female one and it replied _"Skiploom, the 'Cottonweed pokemon'. It spreads its petals to absorb sunlight. It also floats in the air to get closer to the sun. This Skiploom is a male and it has the ability_ _ **Leaf Guard**_ _."_ Ash then pressed another button as he wanted to know what other moves Skiploom knew except the ones he had used against his Leafeon. Then he explained to Ephraim "Look at the moveset. Your pokemon knows _**Synthesis, Seed Bomb, Mega Drain, Fairy Wind, Amnesia, Silver Wind and Reflect**_. Those are a lot of moves, but you didn't use them against me."

Ephraim was shocked to know that his pokemon knew so many moves. So, Ash advised "From now on scan your pokemon time to time to get the move set update, because sometimes pokemons learn new moves on their own. I was worrying about expanding the move set, but now I won't have to worry. We should teach Skiploom _**Sunny Day**_ , which will help it with its ability and _**Solar Beam**_ as well, if possible. If Skiploom can learn a flying type move like _**Acrobatics**_ or _**Bounce**_ , then it will give you an edge against your opponents. We also have to increase its Defences as speed won't increase in just two days. So, are you ready?" With that Ash, Casey and Ephraim began training. Like that two more days of our hero's life were spent.

[Chapter End]

 **A/N:** **ASH's on hand team(Max capacity 13):**

 _Pikachu, Leafeon-F, Leafeon-M_

 _Tyranitar, Lead Houndour,_

 _Noctowl, Psyduck-F, Nidoqueen_

 _Sandslash, Vaporeon-F_

 _Gengar,_ _Umbreon-F,_ _Flaaffy-F_

 **A/N 2:** Another twist. The next chapter will be full of battles. So, see you all after that. Bye for now.


End file.
